A new AI-powered physiotherapy clinic, which provides same-day appointments for back pain via a smartphone app, has more than halved waiting lists for back pain in its first large-scale deployment in England.
Called Flok Health, the pioneering clinic has been created by a team of physiotherapy and AI experts based in Cambridge, and is the first digital MSK service to have been approved by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in addition to achieving medical device certification under MHRA regulations.
Created using video footage of a human physiotherapist, the pioneering digital clinic is able to offer NHS patients personalised treatment for back pain at population scale, with zero waitlist, in a setting which feels like a video call with a physiotherapist.
The technology was deployed in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough in February by Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust (CCS): the first NHS organisation in England to make Flok’s AI clinic available to patients across a range of community healthcare settings including self-referred and clinician-referred patients.
AI tackles MSK waits in Cambridgeshire
Patients living in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough were able to access Flok over a twelve week period between the beginning of February and the end of May 2025.
This was part of a pilot deployment commissioned by CCS in partnership with the GIRFT Further Faster Programme: an initiative bringing together NHS clinicians and operational teams to improve access and waiting times for patients.
When the AI clinic first went live in Cambridgeshire, waiting times for elective community musculoskeletal (MSK) services in the region stood at eighteen weeks.
Over the course of twelve weeks, the deployment of Flok (in combination with initiatives including MSK “superclinics” and community assessment days) reduced waiting times for all MSK conditions across CCS by 44% to <10 weeks.
Flok’s AI clinic alone – the only intervention deployed specifically to treat back pain – exclusively reduced waiting lists for back pain by 55%, and saved 856 hours of clinician time per month within the Trust.
Patients who accessed Flok’s digital service were able to do so immediately, experiencing waits of zero days.
Of the patients treated via the AI pathway, less than 2% requested or required referral to a traditional face-to-face service. That means more than 98% were triaged, treated and discharged via the digital service, relieving pressure on existing pathways and enabling clinicians to see patients who wanted or needed face-to-face appointments faster and for longer.
More than 2,500 patients living in Cambridge and Peterborough accessed the AI clinic over the twelve week period.
AI physiotherapy exceeds patient satisfaction targets
After using Flok Health, 8 in 10 (80%) patients in Cambridgeshire reported that their experience with Flok had been “equivalent or better” than traditional face-to-face physiotherapy.
78% of patients reported that their overall experience with Flok had been “good” or “very good”, exceeding patient satisfaction targets set by CCS at the outset of the project.
Mike Passfield, Deputy Director from Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust, comments:
“We’re proud to have been the first NHS organisation in England to deploy Flok Health’s AI powered physiotherapy clinic at scale. The impact has been extraordinary, delivering same-day access to care for thousands of patients, reducing back pain waiting lists by over 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.
“This pilot has demonstrated how innovation, when safely and thoughtfully integrated into NHS pathways, can dramatically improve access, outcomes and patient experience. We look forward to working with Flok to explore how this service can be scaled across our region to benefit even more people.”
Finn Stevenson, co-founder and CEO of Flok Health, comments:
“Seeing the impact our service has had in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough – which is also where our team lives and works – has been incredibly meaningful.
“Our AI clinic enables patients to access world-class MSK care immediately, whilst 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.”
Sharon McMahon, a primary school teacher from Hardwick, comments:
“My back pain became unbearable after a long drive. The pain was so severe that I couldn’t move the next day, and it left me unable to work for a fortnight.
“An NHS physio suggested I try Flok. I was initially disappointed not to be receiving face-to-face care. I’m not disappointed now. The AI clinic has delivered exactly the same results as I’d expect from a traditional physio – and much more quickly.
“I started my treatment the same day, and was able to get appointments and complete exercises whenever I liked. My back was back to normal after a couple of weeks, but I’m still using the app twice a week to manage pain when I get flare ups or spasms.
“If it wasn’t for Flok, I might still be waiting for an in-person appointment, or be paying to see someone privately. I’d recommend the app to anyone. My husband has been overhearing my sessions and wants to try it out for himself!”
Anna-Marie Cooper, a keen runner from Cambridgeshire, comments:
“I’ve struggled with intermittent bouts of back pain for years, but my most recent flare up came in October last year, while I was training to beat my 10K running PB.
“When I found out I’d been referred to the AI physio I was a bit sceptical, but from the very beginning I was surprised by just how smooth and easy to use the app was. Flok’s service was so intuitive, and having the flexibility to schedule and rearrange appointments whenever I wanted really suited me. I’m an early riser, so decided to use the app at 6 o’clock every morning, to start my day. Even when I went away on holiday, I was able to continue my treatment as normal – something which obviously wouldn’t have been possible with an in-person service.
“I have used private physiotherapy services in the past, but I found my experience with the AI physio as good as, if not better than any care I’ve received before. If it wasn’t for Flok, I might’ve been forced to pay for treatment again.”
Data from an early trial at Cambridge University Hospitals in 2023 indicated that the AI clinic had helped reduce wait times for physiotherapy, with wait lists for in-person musculoskeletal appointments increasing by more than 50% once the pilot had ended and the AI clinic was no longer in use.
Earlier this year, NHS Lothian in Scotland rolled out the service to more than one million NHS patients in its first large-scale UK deployment.
Following the success of the pilot, Flok is working with CCS to explore permanently rolling out the digital service to patients in the region.
According to the NHS website, over 30 million working days are lost to MSK conditions like back pain every year in the UK, with MSK problems accounting for up to 30% of GP appointments..