Royal Orthopaedic Hospital

Description

Royal Orthopaedic Hospital Statement regarding DePuy ASR Hip System

Patients may be aware that there has been recent extensive press coverage of the problems experienced by patients who have undergone hip resurfacing or replacement operations using the DePuy ASR system

This system has never been used at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital and the manufacturers have now withdrawn it from the market place From time to time patients may however experience problems with a hip replacement or resurfacing and if you are experiencing pain or are concerned in any way please contact us to arrange an appropriate review appointment

History

In the late 18th century and early 19th century the industrial city of Birmingham was expanding rapidly and the population suffered considerable medical and social problems The General Hospital Birmingham which was established in 1766 took care of patients with medical and surgical problems and a dispensary provided medicines vaccinations and looked after expectant mothers

In this expanding city there was no provision for people with bodily deformities caused by bone and joint problems On 17th June 1817 a Committee chaired by the Earl of Dartmouth was established to provide a general institution for the relief of persons labouring under bodily deformity The first surgeon at the new hospital was Mr Freer whose portrait hangs in the present Board Room From the earliest days of the organisation it received a lot of support from local people

The institution in its early years had a variety of premises and in 1877 it moved to a new hospital in Newhall Street

In 1888 a new wing was added to the Hospital with the help of a donation from Queen Victoria who allowed the Institution to call itself the Royal Orthopaedic and Spinal Hospital

In 1891 the Hospital started to receive medical students from the Birmingham Medical School and there was some technical advances such as the first use of x rays in 1898

At the same time as the Royal Orthopaedic and Spinal Hospital was developing in Newhall Street the Birmingham Cripples Union in Hurst Street was looking after children with Polio Tuberculosis of bones and joints and spinal problems

In 1907 Mr George Cadbury gave a house and land known as The Woodlands in Northfield to the Crippled Childrens Union

In 1925 the Royal Orthopaedic and Spinal Hospital and the Birmingham Cripples Union amalgamated and King George V approved the title The Royal Cripples Hospital Birmingham being bestowed upon the Hospital

In the 1920s and 1930s the Hospital was able to invest in out patient facilities at Broad Street in patient facilities at the Woodlands and other convalescent facilities At this time there were 4 surgeons undertaking regular operating lists the most famous of which was Mr Naughton Dunn Mr Dunn was taught by the famous orthopaedic surgeon Sir Robert Jones and he helped to provide orthopaedic treatment during the first World War He is famous for developing a method of fusing paralysed feet which was used all over the world for many years afterwards

The annual reports of the Hospital at this time show interesting snippets of information which predict the concerns that we still have in the 21st century In 1932 the Hospital was visited by Sir George Newman Chief Medical Officer of the Ministry of Health who described the organisation as not a government department managed from Whitehall but a triumphant achievement of the cooperation between voluntary and state action In March 1933 there was reported to be a 50 reduction in the waiting list and in 1938 there was reported to be a significant reduction in length of stay

The story of the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in the days of the NHS after 1948 is one of great technical and academic advances with high standards being set in nursing and physiotherapy Great importance was placed on the training of nurses and physiotherapists Among the many individuals who advanced orthopaedic surgery Francis Allen spinal deformity surgery Rodney Sneath bone tumour surgery and Derek McMinn metal on metal hip resurfacing should be mentioned

Between 1950 and 1970 the Hospital had modest investments in 2 new operating theatres and a ward block but it was only managed as part of larger organisations and it was starved of the investment required to deliver the huge amounts of extra activity caused by the expansion of orthopaedic surgery in areas such as joint replacement and arthroscopic surgery In the late 1980s the Hospital reached a low point in its development and in the early 1990s it was threatened with closure