GIRFT is welcoming a second clinical lead for paediatric trauma and orthopaedic (T&O) surgery, working to improve patient pathways and share best practice in the specialty.
Rob Freeman, a consultant paediatric T&O surgeon at Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, will work alongside the current clinical lead James Hunter until Mr Hunter retires later this year.
During the handover period, they will work jointly to support providers to reduce waiting times and improve services across England for the benefit of young patients.
Mr Freeman said:
“James Hunter's GIRFT national report has undoubtedly led to an improvement in standards of care, outcomes and reduced waiting times for many patients. I am delighted to have been appointed to carry on the outstanding work Mr Hunter has contributed to the practice of paediatric orthopaedic surgery.”
Mr Freeman is the clinical lead of the orthopaedic subgroup of the West Midlands operational delivery network (ODN) and a member of the specialised surgery in children Clinical Reference Group, where he has been involved in writing service specifications for specialised surgery.
He has a special interest in gait analysis and orthopaedic surgery for neuromuscular conditions.
From 2013-2018, he worked as the secondary board member for Walsall CCG, and he was previously the secretary of the British Society for Children’s Orthopaedic Surgery (BSCOS), where he served on the board for five years.
GIRFT has been working in paediatric trauma and orthopaedic surgery since 2019, when James Hunter was appointed. Mr Hunter carried out a national review of services, based on data from 128 trusts across England, which resulted in the 2022 GIRFT national report for paediatric T&O surgery. The report made a series of 32 recommendations, with a focus on matching surgical expertise and capacity through aligned networks to strengthen pathways of care and improve the management of paediatric conditions.
In 2022, GIRFT’s data for paediatric T&O was added to the Model Health System, giving trusts and systems the opportunity to gauge their own performance and benchmark against their peers in a large range of areas, such as treatment for clubfoot, knee procedures, fracture care and hip conditions like developmental dysplasia.
The workstream has also developed a best practice pathway supporting hospital clinicians with paediatric forearm fracture manipulation in the ED.
Professor Tim Briggs, GIRFT programme lead and NHS England National Director for Clinical Improvement, Elective Recovery and UEC, said:
“Paediatric trauma and orthopaedics provides life-changing surgery to infants and children, with potentially transformative and lifelong benefits – as such, it is crucial to maintain our focus on the specialty, working to reduce unnecessary admissions and ensure children can be seen in a timely way.
I’m pleased to welcome Rob to the GIRFT programme and I'm sure his wealth of experience in the specialty will ensure we can drive forward the improvement work James Hunter has begun.”
