Heath Tech: How AI is Transforming NHS Wait Times
Long waiting lists for physiotherapy have been an ongoing challenge across England, with patients suffering from back pain often facing delays of months for their first appointment.
However, AI is being deployed to combat this issue.
The AI-powered physiotherapy clinic called Flok Health is already seeing remarkable results, with waiting lists for back pain dropping by more than 55% over a 12-week period.
What is Flok?
Flok Health, created by Cambridge-based physiotherapy and AI specialists, is the UK’s first fully digital musculoskeletal (MSK) service approved by the Care Quality Commission and certified as a medical device.
Unlike traditional services, it operates entirely through a smartphone app, delivering same-day consultations that replicate the feel of a real video call with a physiotherapist.
On its launch in February, CCS became the first NHS trust to implement Flok Health at scale across the counties of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
The pilot, part of the NHS’ GIRFT Further Faster Programme, aimed to reduce bottlenecks in access for MSK care – an area persistently marked by long waits and unmet patient demand.
The impact of Flok has already been extraordinary.
When the pilot began, patients typically waited up to 18 weeks for an appointment. Within just three months, digital interventions and community initiatives across the Trust had cut wait times for MSK issues overall by 44%.
Back pain, in particular, saw an even more dramatic improvement: the Flok Health AI clinic slashed its backlog by 55%, while saving 856 clinician hours every month.
The impact has been extraordinary, delivering same-day access to care for thousands of patients, reducing back pain waiting lists by more than 50%, and freeing up clinicians to focus on other patients with complex MSK conditions.
“What matters most to us is making sure patients get the right care quickly and safely and this pilot has shown that innovation like Flok can truly transform how we deliver services,” says Mike Passfield, Deputy Director from Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust.
“This pilot has demonstrated how innovation, when safely and thoughtfully integrated into NHS pathways, can dramatically improve access, outcomes and patient experience.”
AI: Delivering quick, personalised and scalable care
Thanks to the AI’s advanced triage and treatment protocols – modeled on thousands of real physiotherapy sessions – more than 2,500 local patients have accessed personalised back pain rehabilitation instantly.
The app offered both clinician- and self-referral pathways, eliminating any need for waits. This meant patients could begin tailored stretches, exercises and pain management routines the same day they signed up.
Clinical data showed the vast majority of users, more than 98%, completed their care entirely online, with only a tiny fraction requiring onward referral for face-to-face treatment, which allowed physiotherapists to prioritise more complex cases and spend longer with patients most in need.
As an added benefit, this digital-first approach not only eased patient anxiety and discomfort faster, but freed NHS staff to focus on higher-acuity care, maximising the reach and efficiency of scarce physiotherapy resources.
Equally crucial, the AI-powered experience proved highly popular: eight in 10 patients rated Flok “equivalent or better” than traditional physiotherapy, while 78% classified their experience as “good” or “very good”, surpassing all expectations set by the Trust.
What can be learned from Flok
“Seeing the impact our service has had in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough – which is also where our team lives and works – has been incredibly meaningful,” says Finn Stevenson, Co-Founder and CEO of Flok Health.
“Our AI clinic enables patients to access world-class MSK care immediately, while freeing up traditional clinical capacity for patients who want or need to see a clinician in person.
“We look forward to continuing to work closely with our innovative NHS partners to deliver gold-standard, scalable MSK care to patients in Cambridgeshire and across the UK.”
As digital health solutions mature, the success of Flok Health in Cambridgeshire sets a powerful precedent.
By combining AI with clinical best practice, the NHS can now offer faster, scalable and more satisfying care – ushering in a future where instant, personalised physio becomes the norm, not the exception.
And Flok itself showcases how AI technology can revolutionise healthcare delivery by offering immediate physiotherapy through a smartphone app.
With it freeing up more than 800 hours of clinician time monthly thanks to its tech-centric Flok’s integration of AI, real-time monitoring and data-driven personalisation highlights the potential for scalable, efficient healthcare services that maintain high patient satisfaction.
