BAPO

Executive

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AGM

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the British Association of Prosthetists and Orthotists is scheduled to take place virtually on Thursday 18 March 2021 at 7pm. The Executive Committee invites all members to attend this meeting.

Agenda items are requested from all members of the Association and should be submitted in writing, no later than 11 February 2021 to the Secretariat. This will provide time for a detailed answer from the EC and membership during the AGM and will be answered even if you are unable to attend. A submitted question may be read by the member raising the issue or a member of the EC if preferred by the questioner. Where necessary, all Agenda items will be voted upon in the AGM. If any member not able to attend wishes to make representations to the AGM regarding an Agenda item, they may do so in writing up to 10 days before the meeting.


Non-Agenda questions raised in the AGM which, after discussion develop into voting issues, may be voted on in the AGM or, depending on their importance, may be placed before the whole membership with supporting information from the AGM. The EC under the Chair will decide if a vote must be placed before the whole membership or may be voted upon in the AGM.

Past AGMs have provided a time for constructive discussion of key issues concerning BAPO members and the EC hope that this AGM will be no exception.

There will be 10 Full & 2 Associate vacant seats at the time of the AGM.

Nominations for all available places require a proposer and seconder: if you would like to be considered for election please complete the Nomination Form and return together with a 100 word profile, to the Secretariat Manager no later than 11 February 2021.

I look forward to hearing from you in due course and hope you are able to attend the meeting.

Yours sincerely,

Kate Spiller
Secretary

Return Email/Post: enquiries@bapo.com
BAPO Secretariat, Unit 3011, Mile End Mill, Abbey Mill Business Centre, Paisley, Renfrewshire PA1 1JS

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UK Assistive Products List

BAPO are a stakeholder partner for a new survey launched by the British Assistive Technology Association in collaboration with the WHO-GATE programme. The UK Assistive Products List survey follows on from the original global survey developed by GATE, to which you may have been asked to contribute.

 

Using the original Assistive Products List as a starting template, we are looking to establish a Priority Assistive Products List specific to the UK. We are therefore asking all BAPO members to respond to the simple survey below to highlight which assistive products you feel are of greatest importance to you and your patients.

 

We would really value your input in this collaborative project and welcome your expertise in what we hope will help improve access to quality assistive products and services in the UK.

 

The UK APL survey can be found here: https://bit.ly/UKAPL

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Workforce Survey

Thanks to those who have responded to our ‘Workforce Survey’. This poll has been designed to get a perspective on members experiences and, through comments, their views on the current Covid-19 crisis; providing the opportunity to explain how this has affected them, the services where they work and patients they treat.

In responding to the crisis BAPO are engaging with patient/user groups and stakeholder bodies, and are seeking out concerns raised by their members. In addition we are also reaching out to the national P&O managers groups and employers to clarify if there is a shared position in response to the crisis.

Initial issues which have been raised include:-

  1. Unclear position on urgent care being offered
  2. Unclear provision for growth in children who depend on an orthosis or prosthesis
  3. What pathways will be available to those not be able to obtain a prothesis or orthosis?
  4. What are the plans to manage access once services resume (including how will the backlog be prioritised and will social distancing impact on capacity)?
  5. How can parents/users access advice (including access to remote advice and information)?

 

We aim to collate the returned initial views and opinions by Friday and then draw on those to produce initial guidelines for all stakeholders. This is so that they can be used to advise and signpost clinicians, managers, carers, parents and service users.

As a follow up we plan to organise a webinar for the week of May 4th to communicate with service users and stakeholders; to share those guidelines. BAPO will now aim to develop a consensus on the best way to manage the current challenges and those which will emerge as P&O clinical services reboot.

 

Best wishes

Lynne

Lynne Rowley

Chair BAPO

 

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SIHED Outreach officer

The Strategic Interventions in Health Education Disciplines (SIHED) project is designed to support small specialist health careers. it launched in March 2018 and aims to:

  • increase awareness of allied health disciplines
  • increase understanding of and demand for small specialist allied health disciplines
  • strengthen and diversify the delivery of the small and specialist disciplines covered by this initiative
  • develop a better understanding of the mature student market for nursing, midwifery and allied health.

The project is looking for a new part time P&O outreach officer  to work on an exciting programme which aims to inspire the next generation of students for specialist health careers. FMI: click here for job advert

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Postcode Lottery

Postcode lottery for NHS orthotics patients

Specialist orthotics care for patients with mobility issues varies significantly depending on where they live, new research by Staffordshire University reveals.

The findings, published on BMJ Open, have uncovered major differences across orthotics services at various NHS trusts and health boards.

Problems within orthotic service provision in the UK have been the focus of a number of reports by the NHS and other organisations.  An NHS report from 2014 highlighted that many patients experienced long waiting times which could lead to the development of secondary health complications.

Professor Chockalingam and colleagues at Staffordshire University based their research on Freedom of Information (FOI) requests sent to all NHS trusts and Health Boards in the UK. The survey scrutinises information on Finance, Service Provision, Staffing, Complaints, and Outcome measures and key performance indicators (KPIs).

The results highlight large variances in the length of appointments, appointment waiting times, product entitlements for patients, and product lead times. Certain geographical areas were found to provide shorter waiting times and wider access to assistive devices. The findings also reflect there is more information available on the quantity of service above the quality of service.

The findings showed that:

  • average and maximum waiting times for adult appointments were 7 and 34 weeks, respectively.
  • Scotland seems to fair better in all of the reported measures. Patients in Scotland have longer appointment times and the average waiting times are lower.
  • some Trusts are not fully accommodating the needs of children

Nachiappan Chockalingam, Professor of Clinical Biomechanics at Staffordshire University, explained: “Within the NHS, the Orthotics Service is poorly understood and low in priority lists. Therefore, it is essential to evaluate the current state of provision to ensure that services are capable of meeting future demands.

“In 2011, a report estimated there were 2m orthotics users in England and assistive devices including wrist splints, custom footwear, foot and ankle support, back and neck braces are needed to alleviate pain, help patients recovering from injury and those with chronic conditions.

“In future, there will be an increased demand for orthotics services because of the projected population growth, the aging population and the rising prevalence of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular and peripheral vascular diseases.”

Dr Aoife Healy who co-authored this study added: “Our results highlight that some of the Trusts appeared to not accommodate the needs of children fully. Waiting times of 20 weeks for routine and 8.2 weeks for urgent appointments are unacceptable”.

The researchers hope that these findings will prompt the NHS to instigate its own evaluation of services across the country.  Ms Lynne Rowley, Chair of British Association of Prosthetists and Orthotists (BAPO) said: “We welcome this study, which clearly showcases the inequalities across orthotic service provision in the UK. BAPO has been aware of this issue and has been working with NHS England. However, this study is timely and provides a push in the right direction.”

However, the combination of the number of Trusts and Health Boards who declined to reply to the FOI request and those who replied with limited information hindered the team’s ability to provide a national picture of Orthotic Service provision.

Professor Chockalingam added: “The UK NHS needs to establish appropriate processes to record the quality of service provision since this will enable improvements in clinical management and ensure good value for money.”

Read the full paper http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-028186 here.

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National Associations for Orthotist/Prosthetists

BAPO has represented British Prosthetists and Orthotists at the inaugural meeting of National Associations for Orthotist/Prosthetists. We are proud to be working alongside some wonderful other P&O societies from across the world to improve P&O!