Shropshire Star

Views sought on department at Shropshire's specialist orthopaedic hospital

Patients are being given the chance to share their views on the service they receive from the orthotics department at Shropshire’s specialist orthopaedic hospital.

Published
Members of the orthotics team, including the orthotics production team

The department, based at The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH) in Oswestry, is keen to find out how patients have found their experience of the service they’ve received recently, in a bid to further improve patient care and overall experience.

The team are encouraging patients to complete a short questionnaire six weeks after they have been supplied with their orthotic devices.

Orthotic devices are specially designed shoe inserts to help support the feet and improve foot posture.

This forms part of the #QualityOrthotics Improvement collaborative work, being undertaken by all NHS orthotics centres across the country – run by NHS Improvement and funded by NHS England.

Jane Dewsbury, principal orthotist at RJAH, said: “We’re calling on patients to help us celebrate what we do well but also to recognise where we could do better and make improvements.

“Our patients’ feedback in this study will help us in the future to development the department for the benefit of other patients, both locally and nationally.

“This is an extremely important piece of work. The more feedback we receive – the better.

“This feedback will improve patient experience and outcomes by helping us to identify and implement new ways of working, as well as strengthening the national evidence base of good practice.

“It’s important that I stress that this is an anonymous survey. The answers will not personally identify individuals and will not affect the relationship patients have with us.

“If patients are having any difficulties with their current treatment or orthosis, please contact us directly.”

The orthotics department at RJAH also have bases at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.

If you are a patient of the orthotics department or have previously used the service, you can take part in the survey at engage.improvement.nhs.uk/qii/orthotics/ – the trust’s abbreviation code is RJAH and RJAH RSH for patients treated at the Shrewsbury site, and RJAH PRH for patients treated at Telford site.

Patients have until May 2020 to complete the survey.