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The Forgotten Child of MSK: Why Paediatric Services Deserve a Bigger Voice · MSKMag OutLoud

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  SPEAKER_00: The Forgotten Child of MSK.
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  SPEAKER_00: Why Paediatric Services deserve a bigger voice.
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  SPEAKER_00: Written by Chloe Wearmouth.
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  SPEAKER_00: Children aren't mini-adults.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's a phrase we hear a lot to highlight the differences in paediatric physiotherapy
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  SPEAKER_00: to remind clinicians that children and young people have different needs
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  SPEAKER_00: and require different care.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yet paediatric musculoskeletal services around the country continue to be left in
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  SPEAKER_00: the shadows of adult MSK.
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  SPEAKER_00: Despite one in three adolescents experiencing MSK pain and one
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  SPEAKER_00: in ten seeking health care annually for MSK symptoms,
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  SPEAKER_00: paediatric physiotherapy services remain significantly under-resourced.
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  SPEAKER_00: Unlike in adult MSK services,
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  SPEAKER_00: those who work in paediatric clinics are often expected to see patients
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  SPEAKER_00: with not only musculoskeletal complaints but also stay skilled in neurological
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  SPEAKER_00: and developmental assessments.
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  SPEAKER_00: Most paediatric physiotherapy teams do not have their own department
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  SPEAKER_00: but share spaces with adult teams which can be unsuitable for a younger population.
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  SPEAKER_00: Teams can also sit under many care groups in NHS services such as family health
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  SPEAKER_00: or adult physiotherapy showing inconsistency between services.
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  SPEAKER_00: I am a paediatric physiotherapist in the northeast of England
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  SPEAKER_00: and remember starting my exciting new career path with limited knowledge
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  SPEAKER_00: and awareness of paediatric MSK.
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  SPEAKER_00: With no teaching provided at university and just a five-week placement to go on,
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  SPEAKER_00: I took the plunge into peds.
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  SPEAKER_00: What I didn't expect to find was a love and passion for MSK
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  SPEAKER_00: and orthopaedic paediatric care,
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  SPEAKER_00: and what I really didn't expect was being one of only three clinicians
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  SPEAKER_00: who saw MSK patients in a team that covered a large geographical area.
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  SPEAKER_00: Other staff members could cover here and there as required but not by choice.
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  SPEAKER_00: They felt they lacked confidence in MSK caseloads and their area
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  SPEAKER_00: of interest lay more with neurodisability caseload.
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  SPEAKER_00: As time has passed and more opportunities have come up to network
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  SPEAKER_00: with neighbouring teams,
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  SPEAKER_00: I have found this a very common theme and it is impacting children's services around
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  SPEAKER_00: the country.
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  SPEAKER_00: Many pediatric physiotherapists are comfortable treating neurodisability
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  SPEAKER_00: and developmental caseloads, but can lack the confidence to see MSK caseloads.
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  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes this may be due to personal interest,
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  SPEAKER_00: but otherwise can be down to a lack of training and opportunities to work
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  SPEAKER_00: with these patients.
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  SPEAKER_00: Within pediatric physiotherapy teams,
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  SPEAKER_00: you may have a staff member working with a neurodevelopmental caseload one day and
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  SPEAKER_00: an MSK caseload the next.
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  SPEAKER_00: We would see this happening in adult physio.
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  SPEAKER_00: Would you ask your stroke rehab colleague to cover your MSK clinic if you were short-staffed?