QUEEN Study v1.1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A qualitative exploration of patient satisfaction with first contact physiotherapy consultations for musculoskeletal pain in primary care (the QUEEN study)
IRAS ID
321816
Contact name
Kieran Mitham
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
First Contact Physiotherapists (FCPs) are autonomous practitioners who have been introduced to reduce GPs MSK workload to enable them to manage other patients. Currently, the majority of FCPs are physiotherapists who aim to provide appropriate and timely assessment and triage.
Patient satisfaction is an important factor within healthcare and is often included as an outcome of healthcare services as it can be used to evaluate the overall care quality. According to the 2022 NHS national survey, which is seen as a gold standard measure of public attitudes, patient satisfaction of primary care services in the UK is at the lowest level on record. In the past year alone, the proportion of patients who rated their experience in primary care as “good” has decreased by 10.6% from 83.0%, to 72.4%. The number of FCPs working in primary care services in the UK has increased by 41.3% in the past five years since the national roll out. This may suggest that despite their rising numbers and expertise within MSK disorders, FCPs have a low impact on patient satisfaction in primary care.
To date, research exploring patient satisfaction of FCPs in primary care has either focused on pilot FCP sites prior to the national upscaling of FCPs seen since 2021, or qualitative research exploring clinician satisfaction. Given that patient satisfaction with primary care services in the UK have been worsening over the past five years, despite the increasing number of FCP workforce in the same period, there is now a need to undertake an in-depth exploration of what factors may be contributing to patient satisfaction with FCPs in primary care.
Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore what factors may be contributing to patient satisfaction with FCPs in primary care using a qualitative approach.
REC name
North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 2 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/NE/0165
Date of REC Opinion
17 Oct 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion