Date: 24th November 2025

At ROC, we are dedicated to supporting initiatives that strengthen patient care, enhance wellbeing, and inspire innovation. One of the recent ways we’ve contributed is by funding the introduction of Huddle Boards, an effective, visual tool helping teams across the hospital communicate more clearly and drive positive change.

Why We Funded the Huddle Boards

Continuous improvement thrives when staff have the space and structure to share ideas, identify challenges and work together on solutions. The Service Improvement Team at ROH recognised that huddle boards could offer exactly that—a simple yet powerful way for teams to connect, collaborate and create meaningful improvements.

ROC was delighted to fund these boards, to ensure every team has access to a resource that supports better communication and collective problem-solving.

Huddle Boards in Action

Huddle boards bring teams together for short, focused “huddle” meetings designed to:

• Share ideas for improvements
• Encourage open discussion and solution-finding
• Track progress on ongoing changes
• Celebrate successes as a team

15-minute huddle sessions help reinforce a culture where everyone is empowered to contribute to improvements, regardless of role within the department.

Strong Training Progress Across the Hospital

So far, 43 out of 66 teams (around 65%) have completed the huddle board training, giving them the knowledge and confidence to run effective improvement huddles.

There is a clear plan in place for the remaining teams to be trained over the coming year, ensuring that every department across the Trust can benefit from this approach. As more teams begin using their boards routinely, the impact of this programme will continue to grow.

What Staff Are Already Achieving

Feedback from teams using the boards highlights several positive outcomes:

• Better communication across departments
• Increased engagement and collaboration
• A structured approach to discussing improvements
• Stronger ownership of ideas and actions

Through their huddles, teams have already delivered a wide variety of improvements—from refining training timetables and updating key processes to introducing new equipment and creating quieter, more efficient workspaces. These real-world examples show just how powerful staff-led ideas can be.

ROC’s Commitment

We at ROC are proud to play a part in strengthening communication and continuous improvement at ROH. The Service Improvement Huddle Boards are enabling staff to share, learn and innovate together—and we look forward to supporting the ongoing rollout in the year ahead.

By investing in tools that empower staff and enhance patient care, we are helping build a hospital environment where improvement is not just encouraged, but embedded in everyday practice.

Date: 22nd August 2025

In 2021, the Royal Orthopaedic Charity proudly invested £21,000 to improve accessibility for patients and visitors at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital. This funding supported the introduction of a full suite of AccessAble guides — detailed, practical resources designed to help everyone plan their visit to the hospital with confidence.
The AccessAble guides offer comprehensive, easy-to-use information about hospital facilities, including access routes, department locations, parking, and amenities. These guides are particularly valuable for people with specific accessibility needs, enabling them to plan their visit in advance and navigate the site more easily on arrival.

Since its introduction, the AccessAble system has been a key part of our commitment to improving patient experience and accessibility across the hospital.
Over the past 12 months alone, the Trust’s AccessAble guides have been accessed by 3,177 unique users, generating 4,652 page views — demonstrating the continued value and importance of this service.

Traffic sources for this period include:

• 81% organic traffic via search engines
• 11% direct traffic to the AccessAble website
• 8% referral traffic via links from the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital website

The Top 5 most viewed guides during this time were:

1. Outpatient Physiotherapy
2. Ward 4
3. Ward 1
4. Café Royale Restaurant
5. Ward 12

These figures reflect sustained and meaningful engagement, helping patients and visitors feel better prepared and supported before and during their visit to the hospital.

Recognising the continued success and importance of this initiative, in 2024 the Royal Orthopaedic Charity agreed an additional £17,000 investment to support the AccessAble project over the next five years. The charity’s trustees were keen to ensure these guides remain accurate, up to date, and able to deliver the very best outcomes for patients, carers, and visitors.

Remaining funds from the original 2021 investment — along with this new financial commitment — will be used to maintain and regularly update the guides, ensuring they continue to meet the evolving needs of our hospital community.

We are proud of the progress made so far and remain dedicated to building an inclusive, accessible environment for everyone who visits the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital.

To take a look around the AccessAble site, click here.

How Community Appointment Days Are Making a Difference

Date: 24th May 2025

Musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders affect over 10 million people in the UK, making up 20% of primary care consultations and more than a quarter of NHS surgeries. With an aging population, this is expected to rise over the next decade. In response, the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and College Green Medical Practice launched the MSK Community Appointment Day (CAD), offering same-day MSK services including assessments, advice, rehabilitation, and community support.

  Royal Orthopaedic Charity (ROC) supported the event by providing essential resources, including venue hire, catering, staff T-shirts, marketing materials, and on-the-day support.

CADs are designed to promote personalised care, address lifestyle factors that impact on MSK conditions and help reduce wait times for routine physiotherapy.

The event engaged 259 patients and 48 staff, supported by 25 representatives from 12 community organisations.

Of the 259 patients who attended, the breakdown of outcomes is as follows:

• 9% (132 patients) remained on the waiting list
• 1% (65 patients) were placed on a patient initiated follow up (PIFU)
• 9% (36 patients) were discharged
• 1% (8 patients) required a referral to other services
• 3% (6 patients) needed urgent follow up

The event demonstrated the potential of community-based, personalised care to empower patients and has the potential to reduce wait times for routine NHS physiotherapy.

ROC are proud to have played a part in this innovative event and are excited to be supporting a follow-up session this June for ROH patients who’ve been referred in the last few months.

Date: 30th May 2025

On 20th May 2025, new artwork was installed in one of the MRI rooms at The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital (ROH), with the aim of creating a more calming and less clinical environment for patients.

An MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan can be a daunting experience for many people. Whether it’s the enclosed space, the loud and unfamiliar noises, or the fear of what the scan might reveal, it’s not uncommon for patients to feel anxious or distressed during their appointment. These emotional, psychological, and physical stressors can make what is already a medical procedure feel even more overwhelming.

The addition of artwork to the MRI room provides a welcome distraction and a soothing visual focus. It offers something for patients to engage with—especially when staff notice signs of distress during the scan. It creates a natural talking point that can help to calm nerves, shift focus, and make the experience feel a little less clinical and a bit more human.

We were grateful to work with Grosvenor Interiors, who installed the artwork quickly and professionally, without disrupting the flow of patients through the department—a key requirement that some other suppliers were unable to meet.

Even more impressively, Grosvenor were able to carry out the installation while the MRI magnet remained active. This is a crucial advantage: many installations require the magnet to be “ramped down” to safely bring in non-MRI-compatible equipment. Ramping down not only risks the integrity of the magnet and potential helium loss, but can also take several weeks—causing significant disruption to patient scan time.

Thanks to Grosvenor’s expertise, we avoided that downtime entirely and now have a beautifully enhanced space to help support our patients through what can be a stressful experience.

This project reflects our ongoing commitment to patient-centred care—where even small changes can make a big difference.

Have you spotted the new pebble footprints in the Children & Young People’s Department?

These engaging floor stickers turn the journey to The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital Children’s clinic, into a fun adventure for the young people who visit The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital. Children can walk, skip, or jump all the way there.

The stepping stone project was brought to us via a successful application to ROC’s Poster Competition in 2020. They were designed to ease anxiety and make the hospital more welcoming and accessible for younger patients accessing services.

This is just one of the many ways ROC is improving the hospital experience for young patients at ROH.

Click here to donate or find out more about how we support  the Children and Young People’s service.

Grant Awards – Funding supportive equipment for the Admissions and Daycase unit (ADCU)

The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital Admissions and Day case unit (ADCU) welcomes around 200 patients each week; a busy department which supports those visiting for day case surgery and/or inpatient treatment.

Earlier this year, through successful grant applications, 15 new state-of-the-art chairs were purchased through ROC for the ADCU at The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital. ROC were approached to help support the replacement of recliner chairs in post-op bays in order for patients to have a more comfortable experience.

“When the request came in from ADCU about supporting patients post-operatively, we were delighted to help.” – Ruth Hughes Fundraising Manager

ADCU patients are monitored post-operatively for 30 minutes to 2 hours. Previously, not all bays had recliner chairs for post-op patients, and if they did, they were old and in need of updating.

The newly purchased recliners have provided several benefits: 

-Enhanced patient comfort and dignity with better support and posture. 

-Promotion of mobility and independence, aiding quicker recovery and facilitating early discharge. 

-Improved clinical outcomes through better pressure management, reducing the risk of pressure sores. 

ROC were lucky enough to have received over £15,000 worth of support from several grant making organisations to support this initiative.

‘We have needed replacement chairs in the Admissions Day Case unit for a number of years and are truly delighted that we have been able to replace them this year.

The new chairs offer both enhanced comfort and support to our patients which in turn aids recovery. We are really hopeful that in the long run this will help us facilitate early discharge.

The new chairs really enhance the overall experience of the ward and help us reassure patients they are in safe hands.

We are so grateful for the large donations towards this project as it simply wouldn’t have happened without them’

Christine Tedds – Ward Manager, Admissions Day Case Unit (ADCU)

A huge thank you to the below grant giving organisations for their support with this initiative:

• The Lillie Johnson Charitable Trust 
• CB & HH Taylor 1984 Trust
• The Hobson Charity 
• The EH Smith Charitable Trust 
• The Grimmitt Trust
• Citizen Local Fund             
• The Wilmcote Charitrust  
• The Patrick Trust  

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New College Green site now open

In april 2023 The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital’s (ROH) Physiotherapy and Podiatry departments were relocated to a new site called College Green. Royal Orthopaedic Charity (ROC) have been involved in planning, design and launch of this exciting new site which will be used to support many orthopaedic patients across Birmingham & Solihul. 

The building provides state of the art equipment, a purpose built and spacious physiotherapy gym, and 16 new treatment rooms of which two are dedicated for children and young people.

£16,000 was invested by ROC to support the look and feel of the department and help ensure it is appropriate for all adults, young people and children who attend.

Grosvenor Interiors supported the work by carefully designing bespoke artwork for each of the individual spaces including the rehabilitation gym.

Positive feedback has already been given by both staff working at the new facility and patients who have attended. ROC wanted to create a comforting and encouraging space for patients to be seen to promote support and wellness within the community.

If you would like to help support initiatives just like this one, why not contact the ROC team on roc@nhs.net or by calling 0121 685 4379!

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