Wait time to help chronic pain falls after review

Treatment waiting times for people suffering from back pain and other chronic conditions have plummeted in West Lothian thanks to staffing changes and a rethink about how best to care for patients.

The project by NHS Lothian Physiotherapy Pathways has adopted a tiered approach allowing more targeted help, with more people being treated in primary care than being referred directly to hospital. Waiting times for orthopaedic surgery for elbow and shoulder pain had been cut from 45 to 12 weeks.