The British Association of Prosthetics and Orthotics

Professional Affairs

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PRESS RELEASE OTWorld 2026: Orthopaedic treatment and care in times of crisis

Orthopaedic treatment and care in times of crisis

OTWorld 2026 provides impetus for crisis-proof care structures

As the world’s most important meeting place for modern orthopaedic treatment and care, OTWorld 2026 will put key future issues in healthcare on the agenda. From 19 to 22 May 2026 in Leipzig, the OTWorld World Congress will address the question of how orthopaedic treatment and care can be reliably provided in times of crisis and conflict. The focus will be on supply chains that enable people to remain mobile, self-determined and involved even under exceptional circumstances.

Crisis and conflict situations place special demands on healthcare systems. Injuries require effective acute care, early, quality-assured medical aids, and closely linked rehabilitation. Orthopaedic treatment thereby often begins in the acute phase, accompanies the transition to rehabilitation and forms the basis for the long-term effectiveness of therapeutic measures. This creates continuous care pathways that promote a return to a self-determined life.

Proactively strengthening supply chains

The congress specifically addresses this systemic perspective. In a symposium on rehabilitation in conflict situations, experts from the fields of medicine, rehabilitation and care practice will discuss how supply chains can be made resilient and how phase-related and cross-sector treatment pathways can be successfully implemented even when there are large numbers of seriously injured people. Topics include preparation for emergencies, accelerated rehabilitation concepts in exceptional situations, and the transition from joint replacement implants to external prostheses after amputation.

Another symposium will emphasize the European perspective. The focus will be on surgical approaches to treating war injuries, strategic considerations for civil-military cooperation, and the further development of prosthetics and orthotics in highly fluctuating care conditions.

Prosthetics and orthotics as a cornerstone of modern care

As the world’s largest meeting place for modern orthopaedic treatment and care, OTWorld makes it clear that prosthetics and orthotics are a central component of efficient healthcare systems. Prostheses, orthoses and wheelchairs support mobilisation from the outset and enable rehabilitation, participation and quality of life. The value of interdisciplinary and internationally networked care structures is particularly evident in times of crisis and conflict.

Training meets practice and market

The congress focuses on three main topics: rehabilitation, training and integrative care. The programme is complemented by contributions on prosthetics, orthotics, orthopaedic footwear technology, compression therapy, digital transformation, medical aid research and global care strategies. It thus brings together the entire range of training opportunities for all those involved in orthopaedic treatment and care under one roof.

International Trade Show with a global perspective

Parallel to the World Congress, the International Trade Show showcases the entire spectrum of modern orthopaedic treatment and care – from innovative technologies and products to practical solutions for different care settings.
A special focus is on prosthetic care after amputation. OTWorld offers a globally unique overview of the corresponding care options: prosthesis manufacturers present their solutions as well as concepts for different care realities – even under difficult conditions in crisis regions.

Experienced care centres introduce themselves and share their practical experience, including Superhumans from Kiev, Ukraine, with insights into the care of war wounded. Aid projects such as Pro Uganda also provide insights into their work and show how sustainable care structures can be established in different regions.

In addition, organisations that train specialists and that are urgently needed locally in the provision of medical aids, including Human Study e.V., will be presenting themselves. They will illustrate how training, knowledge transfer and international cooperation contribute to strengthening supply systems in the long term.

The World Congress and Trade Show combine further training, exchange and market overview, making OTWorld the central meeting place for all players in the field of orthopaedic treatment and care.
 
Access to OTWorld 2026

The ticket shop for OTWorld 2026 is now open. OTWorld full tickets (OTWorld COMPLETE) are available, which include access to the World Congress and the International Trade Show. An early bird rate is available until 31 March, offering savings of up to 80.00 EUR. Discounted day tickets are further available for pupils, students and trainees – with a reduced OTWorld COMPLETE ticket at 89.00 EUR and a reduced OTWorld TRADE SHOW ticket at 21.00 EUR (valid proof of eligibility must be presented). A special Trade Show Group ticket at a reduced ticket price of 29.00 EUR can be recommended for visitor groups with a minimum of four attendees who would like to attend the International Trade Show, including all workshops (exhibitor and congress workshops). Separate two-day tickets are also available for participants of the Youth Academy for Technical Orthopaedics (JA.TO). An early bird rate with a saving of 10.00 EUR is available until 31 March.

Further information on the congress programme is available online here. The ticket shop can be accessed here.
 

Further information 
About OTWorld
About Leipziger Messe

Press contacts:
Anja Hummel    
Press Contact for OTWorld
Leipziger Messe GmbH                                   
Phone: +49 (0)341 678-6528                           
Email: a.hummel@leipziger-messe.de      
 
Ruth Justen
Press Contact for OTWorld  and
German Association of Orthopaedic Technology (BIV-OT)
Phone: +49 (0) 231 5570-5052
Mobile: +49 (0) 151 2805-2860
E-Mail: ruth.justen@biv-ot.org

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The Return to practice (HCPC) programme

Dear AHP Professional Bodies

I am delighted to inform you that the Return to practice (HCPC) programme is now live on the NHS England learning hub platform.

https://learninghub.nhs.uk/catalogue/rpt

This course is intended to improve understanding of the HCPC return to practice process and the support offered by The NHS England Return to Practice programme for HCPC returners.

The course offers specific content for returners, supervisors, and organisations. As everyone involved in the return to practice process gains a better understanding of the process and the support available, returners can be supported more effectively to rejoin the health and care workforce.

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10 Year Workforce Plan – call for evidence document

Dear members,

The NHS (England) has an open consultation asking for evidence to support how professions are meeting or can meet the key shifts in the new ten-year plan. The key shifts are: 

  • hospital to community 
  • analogue to digital 
  • sickness to prevention 

It is vital P&O submit case studies, data, stories etc – please submit something on behalf of your organisation or as a service user. Please share far and wide to ensure P&O is represented. We are well positioned for keeping people out of hospital and delivering care closer to home. We are an innovative and technological equipped profession and key to preventing ill health.  

Please see the link below with all the details and how to submit: 

https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/10-year-workforce-plan/10-year-workforce-plan-call-for-evidence-document

Respond to the Survey here: 10 Year Workforce Plan: call for evidence – Department of Health and Social Care

(The survey will close at 11.59pm on 7 November 2025)

Thank you in advance 

BAPO Team

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HCPC report into poor staff retention in the UK prosthetic and orthotic workforce.

Following the recent publication of the findings by HCPC into poor staff retention in UK prosthetics and orthotics, BAPO will seek a meeting to discuss with each of the UK’s four Chief Allied Health Professions Officers.

Chair Peter Iliff said “We have known this has been coming but now have the data to prove it and expect further publications to confirm the crisis affecting our profession. Whilst we have been highlighting this state of affairs for some time, we will now use this data to escalate our concerns and demand action to address the underlying issues”

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BAPO is alarmed but not surprised by the findings of HCPC[1].

In their report published in January 2023, HCPC has revealed that amongst their regulated UK professions, which includes but is not confined to the 14 Allied Health Professions, retention of staff in their early years is lowest in prosthetics and orthotics. 1 in 8 of those who graduated between 2013 and 2018 have left the profession. 

The reasons for this are varied but not difficult to understand. As practically every current media bulletin will highlight healthcare in the UK, across all professions, is affected by a workforce crisis. However, the comparative analysis undertaken by HCPC shows a contrast with other professions, such as the paramedics, of whom only 1 in 56 left.   

The findings are consistent with those explored by Prosser and Achor (2023)[2]. Whilst confined to orthotics, their findings included a likely crisis in staff retention affecting the profession.

BAPO is confident that the recent workforce study it commissioned from Staffordshire University will highlight similar themes. This work is scheduled to be presented in April 2023.

As a professional body, BAPO will continue to highlight its concerns that the lack of an effective career framework, which it believes is strongly associated with the low level of staff retention.  Our commitment is to work tirelessly to overcome this obstacle to members and colleagues being given the agency and authority to develop rich and rewarding careers.

This workforce crisis was the core theme of recent addresses given by BAPO at the ISPO UK meeting and BAPO’s 25 year celebration of State Registration.

In December 2022 the Association launched its inaugural a Leadership Programme, to develop future leaders with the skills to confront the challenges highlighted and a programme we intend to run annually.

BAPO will support the development of an Enhanced Practice qualification, as a stepping stone to building a career framework that will lead to an Advanced Practice Qualification. This work is in tandem with a Workforce project BAPO is delivering for HEE, to propose new ways to address challenges in the UK P&O workforce.

The professional body will not achieve this in isolation. HCPCs report was designed for

..employers, professional bodies, education institutions, and others, to support their workforce planning programmes.[3]

To that list, I would explicitly add the commissioners of prosthetic and orthotic services, and those responsible for its procurement. The current model, in most cases, is in no way linked to the AHP Strategy[4], which explicitly includes prosthetics and orthotics in its remit.

With similar work underway in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, now is the time for all parties to look at the models of service delivery which do not allow the space for Prosthetists / Orthotists to develop their practice, in line with the four pillars model[5]. Too many Prosthetist orthotists are trapped in the clinical pillar employed to deliver a service that is only commissioned on the basis that they deliver, technical clinical care for patients in a way that may not evolve greatly during their career.

The other three pillars of practice, described by NHS Education for Scotland and recognised in other UK nations, are:

  • Facilitating Learning:
  • Leadership:
  • Evidence, Research, and Development

This framework enables profession-specific and specialist knowledge, skills and behaviours to be added during the career journey, as opposed to the stifling environment our members and colleagues experience. Starved of role models with broad and varied careers, linked to patient care, Prosthetists / Orthotists are now proven to be leaving in unsustainable numbers.

HCPC’s report was focused on the early years and the training and support contained in Preceptorship, in part because it has been established that 

“The quality of preceptorship support has been proven to improve retention rates. High-quality preceptorship programmes support health and care professionals to develop and maintain confident, safe, and effective practice throughout their careers.”[6]

As a first step to bringing stakeholders together, BAPO has established a Training and Education Network, which includes educators and employers from all sections of the UK landscape to come together and work collaboratively to develop a more resilient, self-confident, and engaged workforce. However, this is not sufficient to address the structural challenges affecting our profession.   

We have highlighted our concerns about the experience of Prosthetists / Orthotists, who provide services in the UK and how the models of service contribute to both constrained career opportunities and poor workforce retention., Having received this report we follow up those conversations by writing specifically to the Chief Allied Health Professions Officer in each nation to express how this data confirms the content of those previous discussions. We will seek an immediate response as to how these issues can be addressed by involving all parties, including health service leaders, service commissioners, employers, and educators.

[1] HCPC Insight & Analytics Team (2023), How long do new registrants stay registered for? An analysis of first-time HCPC registrations: 2013 to 2018

[2] Prosser and Achor (2023). A cross-sectional comparative study: Job satisfaction for orthotists employed by NHS and the private sector. British Journal of Healthcare Management Vol. 29, No. 1

[3] HCPC (2023)

[4] The Allied Health Professions (AHPs) strategy for England – AHPs Deliver, NHS England 2022.

[5] NES NMAHP Post-registration Development Framework (accessed 22 Jan 2023)

[6] HCPC (2023)

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BAPO KAFO Standard 2022

We have recently published a new KAFO Standard.  The standard outlines BAPO’s recommendations for the safe maintenance and use of Knee Ankle Foot Orthoses (KAFO). This guidance is intended to aid governance within a clinical setting and should be read in conjunction with BAPO’s Standards for Best Practice.

BAPO-KAFO-Standard-Sept2022Download

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NICE Osteoarthritis: assessment and management (update)

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recently proposed an update for the Osteoarthritis: assessment and management guidance (previously published in 2014). The new guidance recommends a significant change in practice which is likely to impact orthotic provision for adults with osteoarthritis. The new guidance recommends the following:

“On considering the evidence identified in this review, the committee agreed that, in general, the evidence for insoles, braces, tape, splints and supports showed no clinically important benefits from their usage when compared to no device use. In some cases, potential harms from the devices were identified (such as blisters with braces). Given this, the committee agreed that based on the absence of strong evidence of benefit and some evidence of harm, that these devices should not be routinely offered”

The statement can be found in “[H] Evidence reviews for the clinical and cost-effectiveness of devices for the management of osteoarthritis” on page 93 lines 33-44.

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BAPO’s position

The British Association of Prosthetists and Orthotists (BAPO) strongly opposes this recommendation. BAPO feels it reduces the service users’ conservative treatment options, particularly where surgery and pharmaceutical intervention is contraindicated.
It is ambiguous in terms of orthotic provision as an adjunct to other interventions e.g., pre-and post-surgery. Similarly, the use of the term “routinely” creates further ambiguity.

BAPO is also disappointed that an orthotist was not included as part of the committee reviewing these guidelines.

BAPO has submitted an official response to the guidance outlining our concerns. We await a response from NICE and will endeavour to keep our members up to date with any progress.