NHS trust picks AI physio service Flok Health in £400,000 contract
Berkshire Healthcare will use Flok's AI-led app to triage and treat musculoskeletal patients. What it means for private physio clinics.
Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has chosen Flok Health to run a digital musculoskeletal (MSK) triage and treatment service. The contract, reported by HTN on 26 October, is worth £400,000 and runs from November 2026 to November 2027, with an option to extend for 12 months.
The trust describes the service as a "complete alternative" to traditional community physio pathways. It offers 24/7 digital triage and remote treatment, with AI-led assessment overseen by HCPC-registered physiotherapists. Flok takes full responsibility for clinical outcomes, patient management and incident reporting.
The service covers community and specialist physiotherapy, the trust's pain and spinal service, and MSK podiatry. Patients can be referred by GPs and other services, or refer themselves through an online portal the trust is building.
Background
Flok, based in Cambridge, runs an app-based physiotherapy clinic and raised US$12.5 million in June. It says it is the first AI system in Europe with regulatory approval to diagnose, triage, treat and discharge patients on its own. It also says its service is available to more than 2.4 million NHS patients across 11 areas, and that a 2025 pilot more than halved back-pain waiting lists in under 10 weeks. These are the company's own figures.
In the tender, technical capability and quality counted for half the score and price for a quarter. The trust is under financial pressure, with a £15 million gap in its 2026/27 plan.
Analysis: what it means for your clinic
Private physio clinics have benefited from long NHS waits, because many patients pay rather than wait. If more trusts offer same-day digital assessment, some straightforward cases, such as simple back pain, may stay in the NHS instead of going private.
Hands-on treatment, complex and post-surgical cases, sports injuries and patients who want to be seen in person remain the private clinic's strength. Clinics that make that difference clear, and that are quick to book, will be better placed.
There is also an opportunity. Patients increasingly expect a digital first step. A clinic that offers fast online triage and follow-up alongside in-person sessions can compete on convenience as well as care.
What to watch next
- Whether other NHS trusts buy similar AI-led services.
- Outcome and patient satisfaction data from Berkshire after the first year.
- Whether private medical insurers use AI triage for their members' physio claims.
Sources
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