NHS Liaison

One of the major issues facing the Healthcare system at the moment is the productivity challenge which equates to £20 billion in efficiency savings over the next four years. This is a particularly exacting target, especially in combination with the implementation of the Coalition Government's radical reforms.  As a consequence, the BOA's sustained engagement with the NHS is now more important that ever.

The BOA's main avenues of engagement with the NHS are through the British Orthopaedic Directors Society (see below for more information) which is the network of trauma and orthopaedic Clinical Directors who work in hospitals delivering front line services, and the Professional Practice Committee.

An example of the kind of NHS collaboration undertaken by the BOA was seen in 2010 when we joined forces with the NHS Confederation to develop a trauma and orthopaedic clinical response to the economic downturn and productivity challenge.

The BOA membership is kept up-to-date with NHS liaison via the CEO Blog pages which are e-mailed out periodically and monitors the fast-paced changes that are happening across the NHS. 


BOA Regional Advisers/RSPAs For T&O
In addition to the BOA leads in the devolved nations, each Strategic Health Authority (SHA) area of England is assigned a Regional Adviser – and in some instances two, depending on the size of the region.  By convention, BOA Regional Advisers wear another hat as Royal College of Surgeons of England Regional Specialty Professional Advisers for T&O (RSPAs). 

Regional Advisers are elected by their peers; the outcome of the election is endorsed by the BOA President; and their consequential appointments as RSPAs are formally ratified by the College Council. As Regional Advisers their role is to provide perspective from and to the local BOA membership, enabling a two way channel of personalized and informed communication as a particularly useful medium for staying in touch. 

As RSPAs they have specific responsibilities to the SHA Director of Professional Affairs for T&O professional matters. More information about RSPAs can be found on the RCSEng website.

The current list of Regional Specialty Advisers for Trauma and Orthopaedics can be found here.

 
British Orthopaedic Directors Society (BODS)
BODS is the network of NHS Trauma and Orthopaedic Clinical Directors working in hospitals at the front line.  Although not designated a Specialist Society of the BOA, BODS is nevertheless an important and influential partner with high level access to Health Ministers and senior officials.  While BODS speaks with an independent voice, its objectives are clearly closely aligned with those of the BOA:  this is reflected in the fact that the Chair of BODS is an ex officio member of the BOA Council.  The President and CEO of the BOA are frequently invited to BODS periodic meetings. 

 

The BODS network can be accessed by those with a log in here.



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