First anniversary for specialist programme

More than 1,000 patients have been supported by a programme designed to help them prepare for hip and knee replacements at Cannock Chase Hospital.

Staff from the Joint School at Cannock Chase Hospital celebrating their first anniversary

Joint School, which is celebrating its first anniversary, is an educational session that hip and knee replacement patients are invited to before they have surgery.

They are run by Kirsty Elson, Clinical Nurse Specialist for Enhanced Recovery, Sian Cadman, Enhanced Recovery Nurse, and the Therapy Team at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.

Sian said: “We’ve had some amazing comments from patients about how the session gave them realistic expectations of their surgery, made them aware of what role they had in their recovery and reduced anxiety.

“We have now seen 1,014 patients through Joint School (454 hips and 560 knees).

“Joint School has been a huge success in its first year and we hope to expand the service to offer this session to more patients in the near future.”

Peter Dean, 63, from Wednesbury attended Joint School before his partial left knee replacement.

He said the surgery has been ‘life changing’ and he is now planning to climb Snowdon as a fundraising event to raise money for the team.

He said: “The Joint School sessions were fantastic. So helpful and informative.

“It was great they were in a group setting as the other patients asked questions I hadn’t even thought about.

“I spent one night on Hilton Ward at Cannock Chase Hospital after and all the staff were absolutely fantastic. It was a first-class service.

“I was in a lot of pain before. Working as a self-employed decorator I would often come home with a swollen knee after a day’s work and had to ice it.

“Being on the move all the time was so painful and I knew I needed something done about it.

“Since I have had the knee replacement it has changed my life. I now go to the gym four times a week and I am hoping to climb Snowdon in the summer.”

Peter said attending the Joint School sessions showed the importance of physiotherapy.

He added: “The exercises I learned were so helpful and helped aid my recovery. I think I recovered faster as I knew what to expect and what to do after.”