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Frequently asked questions
About DynamicHealth
Dynamic Health is a free NHS service, part of Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust.
We provide free specialised services for people aged 16 years and over living with or experiencing problems from muscles, nerves and joints. This includes physiotherapy, specialist musculoskeletal physiotherapy and pelvic health physiotherapy.
We hold clinics all across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. We also have spots within certain GP surgeries for physio appointments. You will be advised of the location of your appointment when you receive your confirmation letter.
We are unable to provide home visits. Please contact your GP if you require a home visit and they can discuss suitable options for you.
Our service
Physiotherapy is used to help people recover from injuries or illness. It can also help to treat long-term health conditions.
Physiotherapy is a treatment that aims to improve the function of your joint and muscle. It can also help to maximise your movement by building flexibility and strength.
Specialists are physiotherapists with an extended scope of practice. This means that they can undertake duties such as ordering investigations like X-rays, MRI or blood tests. They can also provide steroid injections and can refer to other health care professionals.
Our specialists are able to requests scans. However, to do this we have criteria set by the Clinical Commissioning Group (those responsible for planning and paying for healthcare locally). These criteria will determine if we can provide you with a scan for the condition.
Our specialists are trained to provide steroid injections for conditions that meet certain criteria.
Our specialist will assess your condition or conditions and recommend suitable treatment. This does not mean you will require or receive an injection.
How to access the service
Yes if you need physiotherapy, are aged 16 and over and are registered with a GP practice in Cambridgeshire or Peterborough.
Please use the self-referral form (please download or save before completing), following the instructions and providing as much information as possible. Also include any other medical conditions that may affect you (even if you think they don’t relate to the problem you are referring for).
Please let us know about any additional needs you may have in order to access our service, including interpreting needs.
If you're having problems and need support getting or completing the self-referral form, please call us on 0300 555 0123.
We are able to assess and manage many musculoskeletal conditions involving the muscles, nerves or joints. We are also able to assess many pelvic health conditions.
For specialist appointments you will require a referral from your GP.
Many musculoskeletal cases can be resolved with management by our specialists or physiotherapists in the community and prevent admission to hospital.
This process has been set out as part of the Clinical Commissioning Group's plans to reduce hospital visits.
Yes, you are able to select a hospital of your choice at time of being referred. The NHS is offering more and more options to enable you to make choices that best suit your circumstances, giving you greater control of your care.
If you are waiting on an appointment but feel you are getting worse, then please speak to your GP who will be able to advise on pain management until your appointment.
Physiotherapy self-referral
Self-referral allows you to refer yourself to our physiotherapy services without seeing a GP first.
We are able to assess and manage many musculoskeletal conditions involving the muscles, nerves or joints. We are also able to assess many pelvic health conditions. We are able to accept referrals for anyone aged 16 and over who is registered with a GP in Cambridgeshire or Peterborough.
For any other problems, please contact your GP. If we receive your self-referral and it is not appropriate for our service, we will let you know.
Please use our new online self-referral portal and provide as much information as possible, as well as details of any other medical conditions that may affect you (even if you think they don’t relate to the problem you are referring for).
Please let us know about any additional needs you may have in order to access our service, including interpreting needs.
Please note: the Physio Advice Line number is no longer available as the route into our service has changed as outlined above.
If you need support self-referring for physiotherapy, please call 0300 555 0123 and our administrators will be able to help.
If your GP or a healthcare professional has suggested you refer yourself to us, please use our new online self-referral portal.
If you have a new injury or problem, it is worthwhile exploring our help and advice section. Many problems improve with suitable advice and exercise.
However, if your condition is worsening or if you are in significant pain or feel you need urgent treatment, please contact your GP, NHS 111, or A&E as appropriate.
You will receive email notification once your referral has been processed and an SMS text message once the status of your referral has been updated.
A member of our physiotherapy team will assess your referral to identify the most appropriate person to see you, and you will then be added to a waiting list for an appointment.
When you reach the top of the waiting list you will be contacted by telephone or SMS text message to make an appointment. Waiting times can vary depending on demand.
Please be aware that we are experiencing some delays in processing referrals. You do not need to call us; we will contact you once your referral has been triaged.
If your symptoms are getting worse in the meantime, then please contact your GP or 111 as appropriate.
My Appointment
We have adapted to new ways of working since the Coronavirus outbreak.
You could receive your appointment in one of the following ways, based on your needs/symptoms:
- Telephone - Most of the information that GPs and other healthcare professionals need to form a diagnosis comes from what you say. Please be assured that our team are experts in assessing patients by asking questions over the telephone. To ensure you get the most out of the call, please ensure you are in a quiet place where you feel comfortable to discuss confidential or personal information regarding your symptoms.
- Video - As convenient as a phone call, and with the added benefit of talking face to face, video appointments can save you time and travel expense. Via secure and easy to use software, you will be able to have your appointment with the physiotherapist or specialist, and it is also possible to have a family member or friend with you during your video consultation.
On your first appointment you should expect to tell us about your physical condition and any medical history. We would like to talk to you about anything you might have already tried to solve your problem, the impact your problem is having on daily life, and also what you would like to achieve by receiving physiotherapy.
The physiotherapist/specialist may advise you on treatment after they have made an assessment. This will involve asking you to move your joints/body.
So that we can achieve the best assessment possible of your condition, we may ask you to remove or move clothing around the problem area. You have a choice not to do this. Also, you are welcome to have someone with you if you do not feel comfortable doing this on your own.
Often, one or two sessions of physiotherapy will be enough, but sometimes you may need to have more. This will be dependent on your condition; how long you have had it and how well you keep up the exercises you’re given.
If you are seeing a specialist you may need more than one visit to diagnose and treat your condition. Some of these visits will require you to visit a hospital for further tests (e.g. scans). The number of visits will be determined by these findings and the best treatment for your condition.
If you have been referred by your GP they will send us any relevant medical information to help us make our assessment (e.g. any medications you may be taking). In some circumstances (if your GP has obtained consent from you) your information will be shared on our medical system, allowing us to review your medical history.
We recommend you wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothing that will allow us to easily see the joints and muscles around your affected areas.
Once an appointment has taken place we will inform your GP of our actions. If your GP uses the same IT system as we do, we will use it to alert them of the care you’ve received. If they use a different one or you have attended for a specialist appointment, we will write a letter to your GP summarising your assessment.
Appointment times vary (from 30 minutes to 1 hour) depending on the condition or conditions you have been referred for. As a guide:
- A follow up appointment will be for 30 minutes
- A telephone follow up review will be for 15 minutes with a specialist or 10 minutes with a physio
- Classes could be 45, 60 or 90 mins (this will be confirmed at the time of booking).
Unfortunately, if you are more than 10 minutes late we will not be able to proceed with your appointment on that day. This is because we allocate time to assess your condition or conditions and determine the best action towards your care. Therefore if you are late we may need to rebook you for another appointment.
If you are running late by more than 10 minutes, please contact 0300 555 0123 and speak to our team.
Rehabilitation classes
Classes are currently being run virtually; the physiotherapist or rehab instructor will send you a link on how to set up your mobile or laptop.
We recommend wearing comfortable, loose-fitting clothing and sensible shoes for activity (e.g. trainers).
You will not need any equipment apart from a chair. We may send you resistance therabands for the upper limb class. You will have had an assessment with a rehab instructor before your classes begin to make sure you will be placed in a class that is the correct level for you. It is advisable to have some water available nearby.
Please call 0300 555 123 (option 3) to inform admin staff you are unable to attend. Ideally, you will need to give us 48 hours’ notice. You will continue with the remaining sessions and if availability allows we can honour your missed session.
If you do not attend without informing admin, unfortunately this class will not be honoured.
You will have already met a member of the rehab team via a video appointment prior to booking your sessions. They will assess your ability and current exercise level, answer any questions you may have and place you in the appropriate class.
We have classes at various times of the day running with different instructors so hopefully we can find a class time that is convenient for you. There will be an instructor at every session instructing the session, guiding you through the exercises and adapting them as needed.
It is important that you are punctual in order to participate in the warm up element of the session and to prevent interruptions for our other participants; therefore if you are more than 5 minutes late we would ask you not to join the link.
We will call you to rearrange this missed session if we have availability but you may participate in the remaining booked sessions.
Unfortunately these things happen with technology and we will ask you to stay connected as connection usually comes back if it drops out. If it is not possible we will call you after the session to rebook this missed session if we have availability.