Physiotherapy appointment service

Do I need to see the Physiotherapy service?

Physiotherapy helps you to regain strength and function after a mild sprain or strain to a joint, but not everyone needs to see a physiotherapist. This video will explain what you can do to care for your injury and when you need to seek further advice.

Appointments

The MSK physiotherapy service provided by Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust is delivering a new style service from mid April 2023. This is to reduce waits for patients who are registered with a local GP practice. Increasing waits are due to high patient demand and workforce limitations nationally. The changes began in Torquay from mid April and will follow the digital first model already used in many health care settings. Limited face to face appointments will still be available but the waits for these appointments will be longer than for the video first appointment. Patients will still be able to refer themselves – without the need to see another healthcare professional first – by using the booking line 0300 456 9987 (8.30am – 12 noon, Monday to Friday) or the online appointment request service.

If you have chosen a virtual appointment, your first physiotherapy assessment will be a video consultation through Attend Anywhere.

The link for the video consultation will be sent to you while booking your appointment via a text message or email, if you have not received the link within 24 hours please contact the booking team to have it resent.

We recommend you practice using the link a minimum of 48 hours prior to your appointment to eliminate any technical problems on the day which may result in having to rebook your appointment.

You maybe asked to show the body part you are discussing so a private area is always advised.

You can use the platform on any PC, Mac or iOS/Android device, using Google Chrome (download for PC/Mac/Android devices) or Safari (download for iOS devices and Macs).

For all trouble shooting information please see our video consultations page.

The Torbay and South Devon Physiotherapy Service is for patients registered at a GP practice in Brixham, Paignton, Torquay, Ashburton, Bovey Tracey, Chillington, Dartmouth, Dawlish, Ipplepen, Kingskerswell, Newton Abbot, Teignmouth, Totnes or surrounding areas. We offer musculoskeletal (MSK) appointments in local hospitals across the area.

You can refer yourself for an musculoskeletal (MSK) physiotherapy appointment and do not need to see your GP first. Currently 50% of our patients do not see their GP before contacting us. To book an appointment, please contact us using the details below. Appointment times vary for all clinics and a suitable date, time and location will be arranged with you.

Patients can use our easy, online appointment request service, or call us 8.30am – 12 noon, Monday to Friday on 0300 456 9987 (local rate). However, please note: At peak times you may be unable to get through to the booking service by telephone on the first attempt. Please continue to try and a booking clerk will become available. Also see: Things to try before your Physiotherapy appointment.

If you have any of the following, neurological problems, such as: Parkinson’s Disease, Stroke or Multiple Sclerosis, or children’s developmental problems such as Cerebral Palsy, you will need a specialist team referral, following discussion with your GP.

Patients Know Best self referral appointment service

Physiotherapy have introduced a method of communicating electronically with their patients. Any patient registered with a GP in the South Devon area is now invited to create a Patients Know Best account to communicate directly with the Physiotherapy team at Torbay Hospital whilst enabling the patient to access information and store their medical records.

Patients Know Best (PKB) is a system that allows you and the people supporting your care to share information about your care. It also means you can communicate securely with those involved in your care. You can access it on your computer, smartphone, tablet or any device that has an internet connection.

Please create your account and request your physiotherapy appointment.

Already registered? Login into your Patients Know Best account

For help and information about Patients Know Best, including how to register and send messages to your clinician, email help@patientsknowbest.com

How can I register and arrange my appointments?

This step by step guide is for patients who wish to register for a new or existing Patients Know Best record with the Torbay and South Devon Physiotherapy Service.

  • Please ‘Register with NHS login’ from the team registration page.
  • You will be directed to the NHS login sign in page.
  • Enter your email and click continue (if your email does not match an existing NHS login – you will be automatically directed through the process of creating one).
  • Enter your NHS login password and you will be sent a One Time Password (OTP) to your mobile phone.
  • Enter the OTP and click continue.
  • You will now need to agree to share your NHS login information with PKB.
  • You will be shown a registration form to complete. The form requires you to set up a password and security question for your PKB account, enter your address, and to accept both the User Agreement and Privacy Policy for PKB.
  • Complete the form and click next and you will be signed into PKB with your NHS login and linked to the specified team so you can access their resources.

PKB physio screen

I am logged into PKB – how do I book my physio appointment?

  1. Click Start Consultation / Questionnaire
  2. Select Physio Appointment Request Form
  3. Complete and click the send button – this will then go through to the physio booking team

What happens next?

Once you have requested a referral, and completed a short questionnaire, the Physiotherapy team will endeavour to respond within one working day with an appointment date and time. You will receive an email notification each time you receive a message in Patients Know Best, and you can log in to view the details of that message. Please note, appointments are generally scheduled within the next 72 hours to ensure you are seen as soon as possible.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Patients Know Best is covered by the Data Protection Act and operates within strict NHS security standards.

The system operates for your benefit and is a patient-owned medical records and communication system, which enables you to allow others to discuss your health and treatment.

The system needs to ensure confidentiality, and because email cannot itself guarantee only the intended recipient reads the message, a safe way of electronically communicating has been offered: PKB. All information about your health is kept safe in the secure PKB website at all times. This makes it a lot safer and more secure than using your regular email account. When receiving a message through the PKB system, you will receive a notification into your normal email to look in your PKB account. This is a similar model to that which banks use when communicating financial information with their customers.

Please visit the Patients Know Best website for further information and case studies. For help and information about Patients Know Best, including how to send messages to your clinician, email help@patientsknowbest.com

It is used internationally, and one of the benefits for patients is if you need to seek medical attention when abroad you will be able to access your medical record anywhere in the world through a computer, tablet or smartphone connected to the internet. This will help you share your medical information when abroad or on holiday.

Your clinical team will need to verify your account so that they can confirm that you are the patient before medical information is sent to you. Please note: If you have an account opened for you directly by your doctor, they know you already, so your account will already be verified.

As the Physiotherapy team are trialling the new system, they are currently unable to verify patients’ accounts – however we are looking to set this up in the coming months. When this happens, you will be asked to bring proof of identification to your appointment to fully activate your account. If an account is verified and contains the patient’s NHS number, information from the hospital can start to automatically flow into the account. Patients will also be able to invite other professionals and carers to view your record should you wish.

If so, please follow the following instructions to complete your appointment request / referral form.

  1. Navigate to the messaging section – it is found in the NHS app “messages” area and is the option titled “view messages from your hospital or specialist doctors.”
  2. Click continue
  3. Click Start Consultation / Questionnaire
  4. Select Physio Appointment Request Form

Image: PKB instructions - step 1

1. Navigate to the messaging section – it is found in the NHS app “messages” area and is the option titled “view messages from your hospital or specialist doctors.”

Image: PKB instructions - step 2

2. Click continue

Image: PKB instructions - step 3

3. Click Start Consultation / Questionnaire

Image: PKB instructions - step 4

4. Select Physio Appointment Request Form

Help and information

For help and information about Patients Know Best, including how to register and send messages to your clinician, email help@patientsknowbest.com