Orthotics
Details
The Department of Orthotics provides clinical services to inpatients and outpatients.Ā The Department of Orthotics compromises 3 Orthotists and 3Ā administrative staff.Ā The Orthotists assess for and provide a range of orthoses.Ā Orthoses are braces and splints to help support, align and protect different parts of the body.Ā We see people with a wide range of problems, which includes:
- People with spinal injuries requiring protective bracing whilst the injury heals
- People with difficulty walking due to neurological conditions
- People with a history of ulceration who may require protective footwear
For more information about disabled access for this service, please click here.
Access to service
At Sandwell Hospital the referral to the service is via a hospital Consultant.Ā At City Hospital the referral to the service is via a hospital Consultant and some referrals will be accepted from the local GPs.
Once you have been referred to us you will be offered an appointment to be assessed by one of the Orthotists.Ā This could be at either Sandwell Hospital or City Hospital.
Access Critera
Please click here to download a copy of the following information
The āAccess Criteriaā for referrals to the Orthotic Department have been examined in light of ālength of waitā for appointments and ānumber of referralsā.Ā Simply put there is an increasing length of time that patients are waiting to be seen to be assessed and provided with orthoses, also there seems to be an increasing number of referrals to the Orthotic Department further applying pressure on the waiting times.Ā As a Department during Clinical Governance meetings we have been reviewing our access criteria for referrals.Ā We hope that this will help manage the waiting times for the patient groups that we NEED to see in a Hospital setting.Ā It is important to note that this approach is supported by the policy of āRight Care Right Hereā helping to ensure that patients are seen in appropriate settings near to their home and to reduce waiting time.
We, as a Department, are aware that there are other routes for provision of some orthoses:Ā Some Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists will provide some āupper limb splints and orthosesā; Some Podiatrists will provide some āinsolesā; Some nurses will provide āupper limb splintsā and ācompression stockingsā.Ā Thus patients would still have access to assessment and provision, simply not from the Orthotic DepartmentĀ Ā This process of reviewing access criteria has happened previously with the provision of ācompression stockingsā which we no longer provide.
As a Department we have discussed the possible impact of this change in access criteria. One effect would be spend on each orthosis, the average cost of an orthosis is likely to increase as the patients who would continue to be seen in the department would be those that tend to need more expensive orthoses. This would likely increase the ācosts per caseā of orthotic interventions for the Department.
Considerations:
- We first considered our āpatient populationā and āclassifiedā them uneasily with a mixture of diagnosis and referral source. This is far from ideal but it gave a working structure.
- Each of the groups we tried to stratify into three, this represents the complexity of diagnosis, presentation or provision, again an uneasy classification.
- The range of interventions that are only carried out by Orthotists? Thus the patient group that we NEED to see.
The access criteria have been presented in a table form, one table for paediatrics and one table for adults.Ā These are not exhaustive guides, details may be missing and may well need clarification but this does offer a working structure (some abbreviations have been used).Ā It is anticipated that these guidelines will evolve and gain further clarity as and when required.
Classification of Paediatrics | Green, who we need to see | Red, who we will not see | |
Paediatrics with a neurological diagnosis:
|
Issues/Provision:
|
Issues/Provision:
|
Issues/Provision:
|
Paediatrics with Muscular SkeletalĀ conditions: | Issues/Provision:
|
Issues/Provision:
|
Issues/Provision:
|
Points to note:
- Paediatric referrals for insoles should be directed to the Community Foot Health Departments
- The Paediatric referrals from Hospital Consultants for insoles will also not be accepted by the Department, in line with āRight Care Right Hereā approach
Classification of Adults | Green, who we need to see | Red, who we will not see | |
Adults with a neurological diagnosis:
|
Issues/Provision:
|
Issues/Provision:
|
|
Muscular Skeletal conditions:
|
Issues/Provision:
|
Issues/Provision:
|
Issues/Provision
|
Diabetics | Issues/Provision:
|
Issues/Provision:
|
Issues/Provision:
|
Rheumatoid Arthritis | Issues/Provision:
|
Issues/Provision:
|
Issues/Provision:
|
Vascular | Issues/Provision:
|
Issues/Provision: | Issues/Provision: |
Staff, referred from Occupational Health | Issues/Provision:
|
Issues/Provision: | Issues/Provision: |
Hand Splinting | Issues/Provision: | Issues/Provision: | Issues/Provision: |
Points to note:
- Adult referrals for insoles should be directed to the Community Foot Health Departments
- Staff referred by Occupational Health at the Trust will not be accepted if they are referred for insoles, in line with other Muscular Skeletal conditions
Contact details
Department of Orthotics at City Hospital:Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā 0121 507 4358
Email address: swb-tr.SWBH-GM-Orthotics@nhs.net
We are open from Monday to Friday:
8.00 am -12.30pm
1pm – 3.30 pm.