Musculoskeletal patient/public representatives

Recent years and the past year in particular, have seen a remarkable change in how the NHS in Dorset has been able to provide elective (planned in advance) care. The challenge is to now design an elective care recovery programme to meet the health and well-being needs of Dorset’s population.

The NHS in Dorset is now developing a new pathway for musculoskeletal (MSK) services. MSK conditions are a group of conditions that affect the bones, joints, muscles and spine. We believe it is vital the views of our patients, carers and the wider public have the opportunity to provide their views, experience and feedback to develop services for the future.

For this reason, three new workstreams have been created:

Workstream 1 – Prevention, Early Intervention, Rehabilitation, and Long Term Conditions

Workstream 2 – Referral, Triage, Outpatients, and Clinical Pathways

Workstream 3 – Inpatient Orthopaedics

We are looking for six patient/public representatives (2 for each workstream), to be an integral part of developing each workstream. We welcome representatives with a range of ages, locations, and experience of MSK conditions so that we can ensure patient experience informs and influences MSK health care services.

Working as a volunteer public representative can be a very rewarding experience 

The following guide provides detail on the responsibilities and what makes an effective patient/public representative.