My guest this evening was Mr John Targett, orthopaedic surgeon at Spire Hartswood Hospital and Director of Orthopaedics at Basildon and Thurrock NHS Trust for over 5 years. Mr Targett received his Higher Orthopaedic Fellowship in 1995 and he specialises in knee surgery and lower back surgery in both NHS and private practice.

He was talking about the new NHS initiative which is called the MSK Hub. It was launched on 1st April, and it’s a single place for all GPs to refer in to for any musculoskeletal problems. It acts as a triage system which is run by expert physiotherapists who can assess the patient and refer them to the right person depending on what they find.

It’s for people who are experiencing pain in their bones and joints which might be caused by a medical condition or could have been caused by injury. It’s a way of stopping a short term problem becoming long term, by getting it treated quickly and appropriately before it causes any more problems.

The hub itself isn’t a single point but a concept. It’s based within south west essex and doctors  in the area will  refer patients to Basildon Hospital, Brentwood Community Hospital  and St Andrews in Orsett. It’s not  and emergency service and people who have emergencies will continue to attend A & E as usual.

First port of call as always is your GP, or if you have a knee or spine condition you can book a private consultation with Mr Targett by calling Spire Hartswood.