National research grant awarded to Grantham consultant

A Lincolnshire consultant has been awarded £15,000 to start a research project into shoulder and elbow surgery.

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A Lincolnshire consultant has been awarded £15,000 to start a research project into shoulder and elbow surgery.

Alun Yewlett, orthopaedic consultant at Grantham and District Hospital, was awarded the annual competitively awarded research grant by the British Elbow and Shoulder Society (BESS) at this year’s international meeting in Glasgow. The BESS  is the largest orthopaedic specialist society in the UK and has an internationally respected reputation for research.

The grant will be used to support the development of a consent plus programme for shoulder and elbow arthroplasty. This is a tool used to help patients make informed decisions about surgery. It consists of a series of online animations and allows patients to get more information about their proposed surgery. It also has an online test so patients can check their understanding.

This has already been hugely successful for hip and knee arthroplasty at the LEO (Lincolnshire Elective Orthopaedic) institute at Grantham. Once this has been developed, it will become a national tool that will be spread out across the whole of the UK and potentially beyond.

Mr Yewlett said: “I was honoured and delighted to win the award for a national grant. The area of shoulder and elbow surgery is of national interest and relevance. This will go a long way to help with our continuing development as a world class orthopaedic centre of excellence.

“It is a phenomenal achievement that a small unit in rural Lincolnshire has beaten off competition from the established university hospital departments in the UK to receive this award. This is the second national award that one of the orthopaedic team from the Lincolnshire Elective Orthopaedics Institute (LEO) in Grantham has received this year, which is a terrific advert for Grantham.

“I hope we can continue to take our service forward to build on these achievements and continue in our bid to be a world class orthopaedic centre of excellence and to give the people of Lincolnshire an outstanding orthopaedic service for the future.”