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Background |
The British Orthopaedic Association was founded in 1918 with twelve founding members. It now has over four thousand members worldwide, the majority based in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Membership is made up of Consultants (active or retired), Surgeons in training and Staff and Associate specialist grades (SAS). There are over five hundred overseas members.
The British Orthopaedic Association is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee.
It is a pivotal organisation within the British surgical scene, representing some 40% of the total surgical workforce.
It maintains close ties with the Royal Colleges of Surgeons in the United Kingdom and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland; Orthopaedic Surgeons in the Republic are deemed to be Home Fellows of the Association.
The Association is at the forefront of world orthopaedics and has close links with the European Federation of Trauma and Orthopaedics (EFORT) and other regional and international orthopaedic organisations.
The Trustees of Council are elected by its Fellows. Ex officio members of Council are appointed. The Association strives to maintain the highest standards of professional practice by use of advisory booklets, good practice documents, codes of practice and educational programmes.
The professional goals of the Association are centred on leadership, quality of patient care and collaboration with other medical and patient organisations. The objectives underpinning the strategy will be pursued through Council and its constituent committee structure.
The Association maintains a permanent staff whose contribution is highly valued. |
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Objective 1 - The support of Orthopaedic Surgeons throughout their professional careers |
The British Orthopaedic Association represents a central point of enquiry for surgeons in practice. The primary objective will remain enhancement of patient care and the Association will promote and support the highest standards of quality care in all facets of clinical practice.
Council will discuss and respond appropriately to government policies and will circulate appropriate advice to the membership.
The Council will continue to develop policies on current and future staffing requirements for national healthcare provision of trauma and orthopaedic services and will provide advice and assistance to Government in this area.
Continuation of the well established annual census will allow projections and accurate predictions of the evolution, direction and development of the specialty.
The Association will act as a channel for enquiries related to implants, orthopaedic equipment and professional practice.
The Association will be aware of the constraints of its charitable status in dealing with political issues, terms and conditions of service and remuneration in both NHS and private practice and will address these in the interests of its members and their patients to the fullest extent compatible with Charity Commission guidelines. |
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Objective 2a - The promotion of education, research, audit and clinical governance for the trainee |
It is an underlying principle that the training of orthopaedic surgeons remains in the hands of those already established in the practice.
Through the Training & Curriculum Committee the Association will ensure that the curriculum is developed and amended in the light of changing circumstances to meet fully the training needs for future orthopaedic surgeons and receives appropriate support.
Assessment tools as described in the curriculum, accepted by the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board (PMTEB) will be delivered by orthopaedic surgeons to their trainees. OCAP and the ePortfolio are to be harmonised within the Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Project.
The Education/CPD Committee will organise instructional sessions at the British Orthopaedic Association Annual Congress, an annual instruction course for surgeons in training and advanced instructional courses for consultants.
It will on occasion organise other courses, seminars and symposia as required, particularly by the specialist societies.
Research and travel awards are available to trainees.
Close liaison will be maintained with the Royal Colleges in view of their statutory remit on surgical training.
The Association will work closely with the Specialist Advisory Committee (SAC) in Trauma and Orthopaedics of the Joint Committee for Surgical Training to ensure external oversight and governance of quality assurance of the training of future orthopaedic surgeons. It will nominate half the number of elected members to the SAC.
The Association will work with the Association of Professors of Orthopaedic Surgery (APOS) to promote musculoskeletal education in medical schools by establishing an undergraduate curriculum and to encourage medical students to consider trauma and orthopaedics as a first-choice career.
The Association will work with APOS to promote orthopaedic research and academic orthopaedics as a career pathway.
The Association will fully support the British Orthopaedic Trainees Association (BOTA) and will maintain an ex officio seat on Council for the BOTA President. |
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Objective 2b - The promotion of education, audit and clinical governance for the established, practising orthopaedic surgeon |
There are clear educational values in the annual British Orthopaedic Association congress and various instructional courses and seminars organised throughout the year.
The Association will continue to support the aims of the British Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.
Research and travel awards are available to Orthopaedic Surgeons of all grades who are members of the Association.
The Association will encourage active engagement in the formation, development and running of Registries at regional and national levels, particularly the National Joint Registry and the National Hip Fracture Database. It will support and promote the involvement of members of the Association and its Specialist Societies in these exercises. The Association firmly believes that compliance by its members with the demands of these Registries is essential. It will support members whose Trusts fail to provide the necessary facilities for compliance.
The Council will encourage its members to report to the Confidential Reporting System in Surgery (CORESS), the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcomes and Death (NCEPOD), the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) and other similar quality assurance projects.
Continuing Professional Development and its provision and regulation, as a result of relicensing and recertification, will assume greater importance in professional life and the British Orthopaedic Association, in collaboration with its subspecialties, will lead in this area.
The British Orthopaedic Association will offer the ePortfolio as a membership entitlement to facilitate members’ engagement in continuing professional development.
The Association will publish ‘Blue Books’ on selected topics of clinical and professional interest to its members and will, through its Patient Liaison Group, publish information of interest and value for patients. |
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Objective 3 - Support of multi-disciplinary team working |
Orthopaedic surgeons will be at the forefront of the development of multi-disciplinary, patient-focused musculoskeletal teamworking and will be central in leadership and education of such groups.
The Association will seek to develop and expand its links with allied Associations/Societies, whose work is consistent with the Objects of the Association, whose members are not medically qualified and who are directly involved in caring for patients who are the clinical responsibility of a Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgeon. It will offer alliance with the Association to these groups. |
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Objective 4 - Support the subspecialties within orthopaedics |
Specialty groups within trauma and orthopaedics will continue to be important for the delivery of clinical services and the provision of health care nationally. The Association will actively support all these groups; it will harness their diversity and provide firm leadership.
The Association will act as a voice for all specialty groups within trauma and orthopaedics.
The Board of Specialist Associations will provide a forum for discussion.
The Association will afford the Subspecialties opportunities to provide effective educational components within the annual congress.
The Association will provide a secretariat for administrative support of the Subspecialties. |
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Objective 5 - Develop effective communication with our membership |
The Association believes that effective, interactive communication with its membership will play an essential role.
It will ensure two-way lines of communication by various means:
- By exploiting effective use of web technology; the website will continue to be developed to enhance communication on both clinical and political matters with our membership
- By maintaining, and increasing the frequency of publication, of BON (British Orthopaedic News) and by encouraging the submission of articles and letters from members
- By circulation of a regular (ideally monthly) email from the President to allow more timely statements on political and clinical areas of change and to stimulate a means of rapid exchange of views and information on members’ opinions and comments on matters of current interest
- By maintaining effective use of the Linkman system
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Objective 6 - Develop effective systems of communications with Patients |
The Association believes that the opinion of patients be sought when considering any matter involving patient care and that it is important that patients’ concerns be conveyed to the Association.
The Association will maintain and develop an effective Patient Liaison Group (PLG) and will actively solicit patient views.
The role of the Patient Liaison Group will maintain its importance as an advisory group to Council and the Association will maintain an ex officio seat on Council for a lay representative from the PLG.
The PLG will continue to develop a liaison with other patient groups. |
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Objective 7 - Liaison with Government and other relevant bodies |
As the voice of trauma and orthopaedics within the United Kingdom, the Association will seek to engage proactively with Government and all relevant agencies to inform and provide professional advice on factors including workforce planning, training and education and all other areas influencing the development of sustainable, high quality T&O services for the future.
Liaison with these bodies will be facilitated by the establishment of a National Panel of Experts for trauma and orthopaedics and through the activities of Lead Councillors for specific issues which will allow effective communication with the media. The Patient Liaison Group will offer patient-focused support for these activities.
The Association, as a founding and active member of the Surgical Forum, will seek to develop an effective and influential partnership with the Royal Colleges of Surgeons of England, Edinburgh, Glasgow and in Ireland, to contribute to the delivery of high standards of orthopaedic surgery and, specifically, to maintain the highest standards of education, training and professional practice. It will remain a principle that orthopaedic surgeons should be trained and assessed as competent by accredited orthopaedic surgeons.
The Association will continue to develop links with other specialist associations through the Federation of Surgical Specialist Associations and with other medical associations where interests coincide.
The Association will continue to represent the whole of the United Kingdom and will maintain ex officio seats on Council for official orthopaedic groups in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Association will maintain its global responsibilities through continuing liaison with EFORT, other international associations and World Orthopaedic Concern. |
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Objective 8 - Prudent management of resources of the Association |
Income will continue to be generated primarily from membership subscriptions and surpluses from scientific exhibitions at congress, together with investments, legacies and donations. The income will be utilised to maintain and develop the objectives outlined within this document.
The Trustees of the Association will maintain and control its finances in accordance with current charity legislation.
The Association will strive to provide value for money for its members.
Expansion of the membership will remain a priority, to ensure that all orthopaedic surgeons in the United Kingdom are encouraged to join their professional association. It will remain the aim to encompass all orthopaedic surgeons, either fully qualified or in training, within the membership.
The Benevolent Fund, administered by the Trustees, will be maintained for members in difficulty, in accordance with the Deed of Trust of 1938 and Charity Commission recommendations that the profits from the investment be utilised on an annual basis.
The long-term aim will be to establish independent premises to meet the requirements of the Association in terms of staff, equipment and facilities and to enable the most effective development of resources. Active partners may be required to achieve such an aim. |
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Objective 9 - Promotion of research in the United Kingdom |
The Association will support and promote research into musculoskeletal disorders and injuries.
The Association will continue to develop Joint Action as the vehicle for fundraising.
The Association will seek through Joint Action to raise funds from various initiatives. It will encourage its members to continue to have the opportunity to contribute to an optional annual research levy.
It will ensure governance of Joint Action by a Board of Management, with independent lay membership.
It will establish Research and Grants Committees to fulfil its aims.
The Research Committee will also have a role in the strategic development of UK-wide research activity through cooperation with relevant bodies and potential donors. |
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Objective 10 - Improving the working lives of Orthopaedic Surgeons |
The Association will provide advice and assistance to members in their dealings with NHS employers and other institutions with regard to matters of professional practice. This is in response to increasing demands on the membership to deliver the highest standards of care throughout their working lives.
When required, it will formulate opinion and respond on members’ behalf.
The Professional Practice Committee will meet regularly to consider professional issues and will work closely with the Orthopaedic Subcommittee of the British Medical Association. |
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