Clinical Improvement Funding Toolkit - Improving Access to Orthopaedics

Page contents: Introduction | Download documents

The Barwon Health Orthopaedic Access Service was developed to improve orthopaedic outpatient waiting list management, appropriateness of referrals and to reduce the waiting times to see specialists.

The goals of this improvement project were:

1. Match patients referred to Orthopaedic Services with the most appropriate part of the service immediately following triage of the referral.
2. Redistribute the workload away from the traditional, consultant focussed model and better utilise the skills of allied health practitioners such as podiatrists and physiotherapists.
3. Reduce the waiting times to initial appointment
4. Develop the role of allied health practitioners.

This toolkit is designed for health professionals aiming to undertake improvement work in a health service using a structured approach. In particular the toolkit can be used with:

• Outpatients Department – managers/senior clinicians.
• Allied Health providers
• Referring practitioners
• Executive level managers.

Download documents

Toolkit:

Clinical Improvement Funding Toolkit - Better Clinics - Improving Access to Orthopaedics (89kb, pdf)

top of page

Resources:

01 DNA policy: Outpatients – did not attend (DNA) policy.
DNA policy: Outpatients – did not attend (DNA) policy (53kb, pdf)

02 Term of reference: Improving access to orthopaedics – GP Reference Group terms of reference.
Term of reference: Improving access to orthopaedics – GP Reference Group terms of reference (27kb, pdf)

03 Clinical priority access criteria: Orthopaedic outpatients – referral guidelines.
Clinical priority access criteria: Orthopaedic outpatients – referral guidelines (73kb, pdf)

04 Principles lower back pain: Treatment principles for low back pain.
Principles lower back pain: Treatment principles for low back pain (113kb, pdf)

05 Principles lower shoulder pain: Treatment principles for shoulder problems.
Principles lower shoulder pain: Treatment principles for shoulder problems (51kb, pdf)

06 Protocol OAS back clinic: Orthopaedic access service clinic for lower back pain patients.
Protocol OAS back clinic: Orthopaedic access service clinic for lower back pain patients(145kb, pdf)

07 Protocol OAS shoulder clinic: Orthopaedic access clinic for patients with should problems.
Protocol OAS shoulder clinic: Orthopaedic access clinic for patients with should problems (132kb, pdf)

top of page