North Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group (NLCCG) is looking to commission Musculoskeletal Clinical Assessment and Treatment Services (MCATS) to meet the specific requirements of a Practice based Care Network. The MCATS Service provider/s will provide specialist assessment, diagnosis and where appropriate physiotherapy treatment for patients aged 11+ who are registered with a North Lincolnshire CCG GP practice and have not presented to primary care with any red flag symptoms or any of the exclusion criteria. This service will include:

— A patient would be given self-care and management advice;

— A patient would be offered a limited course of treatment;

— Advice to the referring clinician to refer the patient for further diagnostic tests for further investigations prior to the correct treatment pathway being determined;

— Advice to the referring clinician to refer the patient to a specialist MSK clinician (e.g. Consultant/GP with special interests);

— Advice to the referring clinician to refer the patient to other secondary care specialities for surgical procedures/ medical interventions not within the remit of the service and for patients with red flag symptoms;

— Advice to the referring clinician for onward referral of the patient to other community services where appropriate (including the community plan service, physiotherapy services);

— Referral back to the GP/ referrer with advice and guidance on treatment within general practice.

It is expected that the service will integrate with, support and maximise existing local commissioning arrangements by appropriately managing patient care within Primary and Community Care.

A service specification will support the procurement exercise. Selection of the successful bidder(s) will be based on the qualifying criteria.