The UK has launched its first orthopaedic centre of excellence, and it is located at the Castle Hill Hospital in Hull.
The centre, called the Hull and East Yorkshire Regional Arthroplasty Centre, will employ cutting-edge technology and is the first of its kind in the country that will focus on joint replacement.
State-of-the-art joint replacement facility
The centre has been opened jointly by Sheffield-based medical contractor JRI Orthopaedics and Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust.
A spokesperson for the centre stated that it will primarily focus on hip and knee replacement, but will also be involved in developing new techniques and technologies related to joint replacement surgeries and clinical research.
Surgery Health Group Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon and Medical Director Chris Shaw said that Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust is well-known for offering world-class arthroplasty and performing complex knee and hip and revision surgeries.
Shaw believes that collaborating with JRI Orthopaedics will help the trust to attract patients who can participate in clinical research trials. He also anticipates that this partnership will attract more trainee surgeons to join the centre.
Research and clinical trial
The centre will be affiliated to the University of Hull’s academic department of orthopaedics and the chair will be appointed by the university’s Biomechanics Department. In addition, JRI Orthopaedics will be sponsoring a Fellowship position at the centre, and this will help convert it into a research facility for joint replacement techniques and technologies.
JRI Orthopaedics Operating Director Jerry Agass said that the company is happy to partner with the highly qualified and experienced surgeons in Hull. The company aims to create a world-class centre of excellence that will concentrate on clinical research, knowledge sharing and evaluation. This, in turn, will expand and develop the hip portfolio of JRI Orthopaedics.
Agass believes that the new centre of excellence will allow the trust to turn into a global platform to showcase its clinical expertise and superior surgical techniques.