Table 6 Outline of the finalised clinician support package

Overall scope and plan

 Members of the TAPS team will provide training sessions for all participating GPs. For control practices, this will be a 1 h session. For intervention practices, this will be about 2 h. Optionally, this can be supplemented by one “catch up” session with individual GPs at their request or in response to problems identified by the study team.

 Training for control practices will be by one team member. Ideally, two trainers will facilitate the more complex sessions for intervention practices.

Training approach

 Training is for individual practices and based on all GPs attending and working as a small group with the Keele GP facilitators. There are some knowledge and skills components to be covered and the entire sessions should be interactive and collaborative

Requirements for delivering the training

 • Protected time for all GPs to attend

 • Co-ordination with practice manager

 • Training room suitable for small group learning

 • Computer, linked to clinical system, with display visible to the group

 • TAPS templates installed and tested

Key issues to address for intervention practices

 • Tool complements normal clinical practice and does not replace it

 • It is a prognostic tool to aid management, not a diagnostic tool

 • A key step in integrating the tool into the consultation – is the need to enter a provisional Read code during the consultation to trigger the template

 • Arrangements for physiotherapy referral and liaison

Support Materials

 • Slide sets for sessions 1 and 2 and single session for controls

 • Patient vignettes from TAPS

 • Laminated copy of STarT MSK tool and matched treatment options

 • Plan and record for training sessions to complete at each practice

 • Laminated prompt sheets for both intervention and control practices