The Shropshire Orthopaedic Outreach Service (SOOS) offers specialist multi-disciplinary team assessments and management to patients who suffer from musculoskeletal health problems that don't require hospital treatment. 

Patients will either be seen by a General Practitioner with Special Interest in musculoskeletal medicine, an Extended Scope Practitioner Physiotherapist or a Clinical Specialist Podiatrist.

All clinicians will have additional expertise and skills enabling them to assess, diagnose and manage appropriate patients with musculoskeletal problems, reducing the need for a referral into hospital or consultant care.

The additional expertise includes access to the following diagnostics, which may be required in the patient assessment, to help with diagnosis:

• Diagnostic ultrasound
• MRI
• Nerve conduction studies
• X-Ray
• CT-Scan

Following assessment and diagnosis, treatment and management options available to the patient include:

• Joint or soft tissue injections – where required under ultrasound guidance
• Physiotherapy-including acupuncture
• Podiatry
• Provision of orthotics

Some patients may need to be referred onto hospital consultants.

Prior to your appointment with a clinician, please contact the SOOS team at RJAH to confirm your appointment.

Can I be seen by SOOS?

If you are over 16 and require further management for musculoskeletal conditions, that do not require hospital treatment, then you are an appropriate patient for SOOS.

Musculoskeletal conditions the team deal with include:

• Ankle and foot conditions including; achilles tendinopathy, morton's neuroma, osteoarthritis and plantar fasciitis.
• Knee conditions including; osteoarthritis, anterior knee pain, tendinopathies and bursitis.
• Hip conditions including; osteoarthritis, bursitis, sprains and impingements.
• Wrist and hand conditions including; osteoarthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome and trigger finger.
• Elbow conditions including; tennis and golfer’s elbow and osteoarthritis.
• Shoulder conditions including; acromioclavicular pain, capsulitis/frozen shoulder, rotator cuff pathology and bursitis.
• Spinal pain including; cervical, thoracic and lumbar back pain with and without radiating limb symptoms.

If you are under 16 and not registered with a GP under Shropshire CCG then unfortunately you cannot be seen by a SOOS clinician.

The team also cannot treat patients who require surgery, have suspected cancer or those that require rheumatological opinion or management. 

How can I be referred?

Patients can be referred to the service by their General Practitioner using Choose and Book.

Patients attending podiatric or physiotherapy services in the county may also be referred into SOOS directly.