Community Musculoskeletal (MSK) Services to NHS Sussex

NHS Sussex ICB (covering the patient population of West Sussex, Brighton & Hove, and East Sussex) is awarding two contracts (Lot 1 and Lot 2) for a Community Musculoskeletal Service from 1st December 2025.

The Community MSK service will form part of a fully integrated MSK service for the population of Sussex. The aim is to offer a standardised, transparent, coordinated patient pathway for all MSK patients across Sussex, which is fully aligned to the ICB system strategy 'Improving Lives'.

The service aim is to ensure patients receive a consistent experience, feel supported throughout the whole pathway and get the optimal treatment first time. The integrated service will be delivered in collaboration with Primary, Community and Secondary Care to ensure all parts of the system understand the whole pathway and the expectations of them as a contributor to integrated provision.

The key aims and objectives of the contract require the new Community MSK providers to work collaboratively with system partners to:

• Deliver a 'population-health' based approach with a greater focus on enabling best lifelong MSK health, personalised care and shared decision making, improving value, reducing health inequalities and meeting population health needs at scale.
• Address variation experienced by patients in terms of quality and outcomes and inequity in terms of access, waiting times and service provision.
• Maximising system capacity across NHS services and the independent sector whilst ensuring core services are protected and enabled to meet training requirements and productivity and efficiency standards.
• Ensure delivery of integrated care pathways that are seamless for patients.
• Support post pandemic recovery with an ambition to deliver top decile performance in terms of Getting it Right First Time (GIRFT) outcomes, productivity and equality of access measures.
• Deliver continuous innovation through maximisation of digital opportunities and transformation of pathways.

The contract period will be for a period of 5 years commencing 1st December 2024. The Commissioners at their sole discretion, will have an option to extend for a further 2 years (5+2). A standard NHS contract will be used for this service.

The contracts are divided into two Lots:

Lot 1) East Sussex.

Lot 2) West Sussex / Brighton & Hove