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Bone & Joint Open
Vol. 4, Issue 12 | Pages 970 - 979
19 Dec 2023
Kontoghiorghe C Morgan C Eastwood D McNally S

Aims. The number of females within the speciality of trauma and orthopaedics (T&O) is increasing. The aim of this study was to identify: 1) current attitudes and behaviours of UK female T&O surgeons towards pregnancy; 2) any barriers faced towards pregnancy with a career in T&O surgery; and 3) areas for improvement. Methods. This is a cross-sectional study using an anonymous 13-section web-based survey distributed to female-identifying T&O trainees, speciality and associate specialist surgeons (SASs) and locally employed doctors (LEDs), fellows, and consultants in the UK. Demographic data was collected as well as closed and open questions with adaptive answering relating to attitudes towards childbearing and experiences of fertility and complications associated with pregnancy. A descriptive data analysis was carried out. Results. A total of 226 UK female T&O surgeons completed the survey. All regions of the UK were represented. Overall, 99/226 (44%) of respondents had at least one child, while 21/226 (9.3%) did not want children. Median age at first child was 33 years (interquartile range 32 to 36). Two-thirds (149/226; 66%) of respondents delayed childbearing due to a career in T&O and 140/226 (69%) of respondents had experienced bias from colleagues directed at female T&O surgeons having children during training. Nearly 24/121 (20%) of respondents required fertility assistance, 35/121 (28.9%) had experienced a miscarriage, and 53/121 (43.8%) had experienced obstetric complications. Conclusion. A large proportion of female T&O surgeons have and want children. T&O surgeons in the UK delay childbearing, have experienced bias and have high rates of infertility and obstetric complications. The information from this study will support female T&O surgeons with decision making and assist employers with workforce planning. Further steps are necessary in order to support female T&O surgeons having families. Cite this article: Bone Jt Open 2023;4(12):970–979


Bone & Joint Open
Vol. 3, Issue 10 | Pages 777 - 785
10 Oct 2022
Kulkarni K Shah R Mangwani J Dias J

Aims. Deprivation underpins many societal and health inequalities. COVID-19 has exacerbated these disparities, with access to planned care falling greatest in the most deprived areas of the UK during 2020. This study aimed to identify the impact of deprivation on patients on growing waiting lists for planned care. Methods. Questionnaires were sent to orthopaedic waiting list patients at the start of the UK’s first COVID-19 lockdown to capture key quantitative and qualitative aspects of patients’ health. A total of 888 respondents were divided into quintiles, with sampling stratified based on the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD); level 1 represented the ‘most deprived’ cohort and level 5 the ‘least deprived’. Results. The least deprived cohort were older (mean 65.95 years (SD 13.33)) than the most deprived (mean 59.48 years (SD 13.85)). Mean symptom duration was lower in the least deprived areas (68.59 months (SD 112.26)) compared to the most deprived (85.85 months (SD 122.50)). Mean pain visual analogue scores (VAS) were poorer in the most compared to the least deprived cohort (7.11 (SD 2.01) vs 5.99 (SD 2.57)), with mean mood scores also poorer (6.06 (SD 2.65) vs 4.71 (SD 2.78)). The most deprived areas exhibited lower mean quality of life (QoL) scores than the least (0.37 (SD 0.30) vs 0.53 (SD 0.31)). QoL findings correlated with health VAS and Generalized Anxiety Disorder 2-item (GAD2) scores, with the most deprived areas experiencing poorer health (health VAS 50.82 (SD 26.42) vs 57.29 (SD 24.19); GAD2: 2.94 (SD 2.35) vs 1.88 (SD 2.07)). Least-deprived patients had the highest self-reported activity levels and lowest sedentary cohort, with the converse true for patients from the most deprived areas. Conclusion. The most deprived patients experience poorer physical and mental health, with this most adversely impacted by lengthy waiting list delays. Interventions to address inequalities should focus on prioritizing the most deprived. Cite this article: Bone Jt Open 2022;3(10):777–785


Bone & Joint Open
Vol. 3, Issue 5 | Pages 359 - 366
1 May 2022
Sadekar V Watts AT Moulder E Souroullas P Hadland Y Barron E Muir R Sharma HK

Aims. The timing of when to remove a circular frame is crucial; early removal results in refracture or deformity, while late removal increases the patient morbidity and delay in return to work. This study was designed to assess the effectiveness of a staged reloading protocol. We report the incidence of mechanical failure following both single-stage and two stage reloading protocols and analyze the associated risk factors. Methods. We identified consecutive patients from our departmental database. Both trauma and elective cases were included, of all ages, frame types, and pathologies who underwent circular frame treatment. Our protocol is either a single-stage or two-stage process implemented by defunctioning the frame, in order to progressively increase the weightbearing load through the bone, and promote full loading prior to frame removal. Before progression, through the process we monitor patients for any increase in pain and assess radiographs for deformity or refracture. Results. There were 244 frames (230 patients) included in the analyses, of which 90 were Ilizarov type frames and 154 were hexapods. There were 149 frames which underwent single-stage reloading and 95 frames which underwent a two-stage reloading protocol. Mechanical failure occurred after frame removal in 13 frames (5%), which suffered refracture. There were no cases of change in alignment. There was no difference between refracture patients who underwent single-stage or two-stage reloading protocols (p = 0.772). In all, 14 patients had failure prevented through identification with the reloading protocol. Conclusion. Our reloading protocol is a simple and effective way to confirm the timing of frame removal and minimize the rate of mechanical failure. Similar failure rates occurred between patients undergoing single-stage and two-stage reloading protocols. If the surgeon is confident with clinical and radiological assessment, it may be possible to progress directly to stage two and decrease frame time and patient morbidity. Cite this article: Bone Jt Open 2022;3(5):359–366


Bone & Joint Open
Vol. 2, Issue 10 | Pages 886 - 892
25 Oct 2021
Jeyaseelan L Sedgwick P El-Daly I Tahmassebi R Pearse M Bhattacharya R Trompeter AJ Bates P

Aims. As the world continues to fight successive waves of COVID-19 variants, we have seen worldwide infections surpass 100 million. London, UK, has been severely affected throughout the pandemic, and the resulting impact on the NHS has been profound. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on theatre productivity across London’s four major trauma centres (MTCs), and to assess how the changes to normal protocols and working patterns impacted trauma theatre efficiency. Methods. This was a collaborative study across London’s MTCs. A two-month period was selected from 5 March to 5 May 2020. The same two-month period in 2019 was used to provide baseline data for comparison. Demographic information was collected, as well as surgical speciality, procedure, time to surgery, type of anaesthesia, and various time points throughout the patient journey to theatre. Results. In total, 1,243 theatre visits were analyzed as part of the study. Of these, 834 patients presented in 2019 and 409 in 2020. Fewer open reduction and internal fixations were performed in 2020 (33.5% vs 38.2%), and there was an increase in the number of orthoplastic cases in 2020 (8.3% vs 2.2%), both statistically significant results (p < 0.000). There was a statistically significant increase in median time from 2019 to 2020, between sending for a patient and their arrival to the anaesthetic room (29 vs 35 minutes; p = 0.000). Median time between arrival in the anaesthetic room and commencement of anaesthetic increased (7 to 9 minutes; p = 0.104). Conclusion. Changes in working practices necessitated by COVID-19 led to modest delays to all aspects of theatre use, and consequently theatre efficiency. However, the reality is that the major concerns of impact of service did not occur to the levels that were expected. Cite this article: Bone Jt Open 2021;2(10):886–892


Bone & Joint Open
Vol. 2, Issue 8 | Pages 583 - 593
2 Aug 2021
Kulkarni K Shah R Armaou M Leighton P Mangwani J Dias J

Aims. COVID-19 has compounded a growing waiting list problem, with over 4.5 million patients now waiting for planned elective care in the UK. Views of patients on waiting lists are rarely considered in prioritization. Our primary aim was to understand how to support patients on waiting lists by hearing their experiences, concerns, and expectations. The secondary aim was to capture objective change in disability and coping mechanisms. Methods. A minimum representative sample of 824 patients was required for quantitative analysis to provide a 3% margin of error. Sampling was stratified by body region (upper/lower limb, spine) and duration on the waiting list. Questionnaires were sent to a random sample of elective orthopaedic waiting list patients with their planned intervention paused due to COVID-19. Analyzed parameters included baseline health, change in physical/mental health status, challenges and coping strategies, preferences/concerns regarding treatment, and objective quality of life (EuroQol five-dimension questionnaire (EQ-5D), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 2-item scale (GAD-2)). Qualitative analysis was performed via the Normalization Process Theory. Results. A total of 888 patients responded. Better health, pain, and mood scores were reported by upper limb patients. The longest waiters reported better health but poorer mood and anxiety scores. Overall, 82% had tried self-help measures to ease symptoms; 94% wished to proceed with their intervention; and 21% were prepared to tolerate deferral. Qualitative analysis highlighted the overall patient mood to be represented by the terms ‘understandable’, ‘frustrated’, ‘pain’, ‘disappointed’, and ‘not happy/depressed’. COVID-19-mandated health and safety measures and technology solutions were felt to be implemented well. However, patients struggled with access to doctors and pain management, quality of life (physical and psychosocial) deterioration, and delay updates. Conclusion. This is the largest study to hear the views of this ‘hidden’ cohort. Our findings are widely relevant to ensure provision of better ongoing support and communication, mostly within the constraints of current resources. In response, we developed a reproducible local action plan to address highlighted issues. Cite this article: Bone Jt Open 2021;2(8):583–593


Bone & Joint Open
Vol. 2, Issue 7 | Pages 562 - 568
28 Jul 2021
Montgomery ZA Yedulla NR Koolmees D Battista E Parsons III TW Day CS

Aims. COVID-19-related patient care delays have resulted in an unprecedented patient care backlog in the field of orthopaedics. The objective of this study is to examine orthopaedic provider preferences regarding the patient care backlog and financial recovery initiatives in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods. An orthopaedic research consortium at a multi-hospital tertiary care academic medical system developed a three-part survey examining provider perspectives on strategies to expand orthopaedic patient care and financial recovery. Section 1 asked for preferences regarding extending clinic hours, section 2 assessed surgeon opinions on expanding surgical opportunities, and section 3 questioned preferred strategies for departmental financial recovery. The survey was sent to the institution’s surgical and nonoperative orthopaedic providers. Results. In all, 73 of 75 operative (n = 55) and nonoperative (n = 18) providers responded to the survey. A total of 92% of orthopaedic providers (n = 67) were willing to extend clinic hours. Most providers preferred extending clinic schedule until 6pm on weekdays. When asked about extending surgical block hours, 96% of the surgeons (n = 53) were willing to extend operating room (OR) block times. Most surgeons preferred block times to be extended until 7pm (63.6%, n = 35). A majority of surgeons (53%, n = 29) believe that over 50% of their surgical cases could be performed at an ambulatory surgery centre (ASC). Of the strategies to address departmental financial deficits, 85% of providers (n = 72) were willing to work extra hours without a pay cut. Conclusion. Most orthopaedic providers are willing to help with patient care backlogs and revenue recovery by working extended hours instead of having their pay reduced. These findings provide insights that can be incorporated into COVID-19 recovery strategies. Level of Evidence: III. Cite this article: Bone Jt Open 2021;2(7):562–568


Bone & Joint Open
Vol. 2, Issue 2 | Pages 111 - 118
8 Feb 2021
Pettit M Shukla S Zhang J Sunil Kumar KH Khanduja V

Aims. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted and delayed medical and surgical examinations where attendance is required in person. Our article aims to outline the validity of online assessment, the range of benefits to both candidate and assessor, and the challenges to its implementation. In addition, we propose pragmatic suggestions for its introduction into medical assessment. Methods. We reviewed the literature concerning the present status of online medical and surgical assessment to establish the perceived benefits, limitations, and potential problems with this method of assessment. Results. Global experience with online, remote virtual examination has been largely successful with many benefits conferred to the trainee, and both an economic and logistical advantage conferred to the assessor or organization. Advances in online examination software and remote proctoring are overcoming practical caveats including candidate authentication, cheating prevention, cybersecurity, and IT failure. Conclusion. Virtual assessment provides benefits to both trainee and assessor in medical and surgical examinations and may also result in cost savings. Virtual assessment is likely to be increasingly used in the post-COVID world and we present recommendations for the continued adoption of virtual examination. It is, however, currently unable to completely replace clinical assessment of trainees. Cite this article: Bone Jt Open 2021;2(2):111–118


Bone & Joint Open
Vol. 1, Issue 6 | Pages 267 - 271
12 Jun 2020
Chang J Wignadasan W Kontoghiorghe C Kayani B Singh S Plastow R Magan A Haddad F

Aims. As the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic passes, the challenge shifts to safe resumption of routine medical services, including elective orthopaedic surgery. Protocols including pre-operative self-isolation, COVID-19 testing, and surgery at a non-COVID-19 site have been developed to minimize risk of transmission. Despite this, it is likely that many patients will want to delay surgery for fear of contracting COVID-19. The aim of this study is to identify the number of patients who still want to proceed with planned elective orthopaedic surgery in this current environment. Methods. This is a prospective, single surgeon study of 102 patients who were on the waiting list for an elective hip or knee procedure during the COVID-19 pandemic. Baseline characteristics including age, ASA grade, COVID-19 risk, procedure type, surgical priority, and admission type were recorded. The primary outcome was patient consent to continue with planned surgical care after resumption of elective orthopaedic services. Subgroup analysis was also performed to determine if any specific patient factors influenced the decision to proceed with surgery. Results. Overall, 58 patients (56.8%) wanted to continue with planned surgical care at the earliest possibility. Patients classified as ASA I and ASA II were more likely to agree to surgery (60.5% and 60.0%, respectively) compared to ASA III and ASA IV patients (44.4% and 0.0%, respectively) (p = 0.01). In addition, patients undergoing soft tissue knee surgery were more likely to consent to surgery (90.0%) compared to patients undergoing primary hip arthroplasty (68.6%), primary knee arthroplasty (48.7%), revision hip or knee arthroplasty (0.0%), or hip and knee injections (43.8%) (p = 0.03). Conclusion. Restarting elective orthopaedic services during the COVID-19 pandemic remains a significant challenge. Given the uncertain environment, it is unsurprising that only 56% of patients were prepared to continue with their planned surgical care upon resumption of elective services. Cite this article: Bone Joint Open 2020;1-6:267–271


Bone & Joint Open
Vol. 4, Issue 9 | Pages 696 - 703
11 Sep 2023
Ormond MJ Clement ND Harder BG Farrow L Glester A

Aims

The principles of evidence-based medicine (EBM) are the foundation of modern medical practice. Surgeons are familiar with the commonly used statistical techniques to test hypotheses, summarize findings, and provide answers within a specified range of probability. Based on this knowledge, they are able to critically evaluate research before deciding whether or not to adopt the findings into practice. Recently, there has been an increased use of artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze information and derive findings in orthopaedic research. These techniques use a set of statistical tools that are increasingly complex and may be unfamiliar to the orthopaedic surgeon. It is unclear if this shift towards less familiar techniques is widely accepted in the orthopaedic community. This study aimed to provide an exploration of understanding and acceptance of AI use in research among orthopaedic surgeons.

Methods

Semi-structured in-depth interviews were carried out on a sample of 12 orthopaedic surgeons. Inductive thematic analysis was used to identify key themes.


Bone & Joint Open
Vol. 4, Issue 8 | Pages 643 - 651
24 Aug 2023
Langit MB Tay KS Al-Omar HK Barlow G Bates J Chuo CB Muir R Sharma H

Aims

The standard of wide tumour-like resection for chronic osteomyelitis (COM) has been challenged recently by adequate debridement. This paper reviews the evolution of surgical debridement for long bone COM, and presents the outcome of adequate debridement in a tertiary bone infection unit.

Methods

We analyzed the retrospective record review from 2014 to 2020 of patients with long bone COM. All were managed by multidisciplinary infection team (MDT) protocol. Adequate debridement was employed for all cases, and no case of wide resection was included.


Bone & Joint Open
Vol. 4, Issue 4 | Pages 250 - 261
7 Apr 2023
Sharma VJ Adegoke JA Afara IO Stok K Poon E Gordon CL Wood BR Raman J

Aims

Disorders of bone integrity carry a high global disease burden, frequently requiring intervention, but there is a paucity of methods capable of noninvasive real-time assessment. Here we show that miniaturized handheld near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) scans, operated via a smartphone, can assess structural human bone properties in under three seconds.

Methods

A hand-held NIR spectrometer was used to scan bone samples from 20 patients and predict: bone volume fraction (BV/TV); and trabecular (Tb) and cortical (Ct) thickness (Th), porosity (Po), and spacing (Sp).


Bone & Joint Open
Vol. 4, Issue 3 | Pages 146 - 157
7 Mar 2023
Camilleri-Brennan J James S McDaid C Adamson J Jones K O'Carroll G Akhter Z Eltayeb M Sharma H

Aims

Chronic osteomyelitis (COM) of the lower limb in adults can be surgically managed by either limb reconstruction or amputation. This scoping review aims to map the outcomes used in studies surgically managing COM in order to aid future development of a core outcome set.

Methods

A total of 11 databases were searched. A subset of studies published between 1 October 2020 and 1 January 2011 from a larger review mapping research on limb reconstruction and limb amputation for the management of lower limb COM were eligible. All outcomes were extracted and recorded verbatim. Outcomes were grouped and categorized as per the revised Williamson and Clarke taxonomy.


Bone & Joint Open
Vol. 5, Issue 8 | Pages 697 - 707
22 Aug 2024
Raj S Grover S Spazzapan M Russell B Jaffry Z Malde S Vig S Fleming S

Aims

The aims of this study were to describe the demographic, socioeconomic, and educational factors associated with core surgical trainees (CSTs) who apply to and receive offers for higher surgical training (ST3) posts in Trauma & Orthopaedics (T&O).

Methods

Data collected by the UK Medical Education Database (UKMED) between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2019 were used in this retrospective longitudinal cohort study comprising 1,960 CSTs eligible for ST3. The primary outcome measures were whether CSTs applied for a T&O ST3 post and if they were subsequently offered a post. A directed acyclic graph was used for detecting confounders and adjusting logistic regression models to calculate odds ratios (ORs), which assessed the association between the primary outcomes and relevant exposures of interest, including: age, sex, ethnicity, parental socioeconomic status (SES), domiciliary status, category of medical school, Situational Judgement Test (SJT) scores at medical school, and success in postgraduate examinations. This study followed STROBE guidelines.


The Bone & Joint Journal
Vol. 104-B, Issue 9 | Pages 1095 - 1100
1 Sep 2022
McNally MA Ferguson JY Scarborough M Ramsden A Stubbs DA Atkins BL

Aims

Excision of chronic osteomyelitic bone creates a dead space which must be managed to avoid early recurrence of infection. Systemic antibiotics cannot penetrate this space in high concentrations, so local treatment has become an attractive adjunct to surgery. The aim of this study was to present the mid- to long-term results of local treatment with gentamicin in a bioabsorbable ceramic carrier.

Methods

A prospective series of 100 patients with Cierny-Mader Types III and IV chronic ostemyelitis, affecting 105 bones, were treated with a single-stage procedure including debridement, deep tissue sampling, local and systemic antibiotics, stabilization, and immediate skin closure. Chronic osteomyelitis was confirmed using strict diagnostic criteria. The mean follow-up was 6.05 years (4.2 to 8.4).


Bone & Joint Open
Vol. 3, Issue 5 | Pages 432 - 440
1 May 2022
Craig AD Asmar S Whitaker P Shaw DL Saralaya D

Aims

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the biggest communicable causes of mortality worldwide. While incidence in the UK has continued to fall since 2011, Bradford retains one of the highest TB rates in the UK. This study aims to examine the local disease burden of musculoskeletal (MSK) TB, by analyzing common presenting factors within the famously diverse population of Bradford.

Methods

An observational study was conducted, using data from the Bradford Teaching Hospitals TB database of patients with a formal diagnosis of MSK TB between January 2005 and July 2017. Patient data included demographic data (including nationality/date of entry to the UK), disease focus, microbiology, and management strategies. Disease incidence was calculated using population data from the Office for National Statistics. Poisson confidence intervals were calculated to demonstrate the extent of statistical error. Disease incidence and nationality were also analyzed, and correlation sought, using the chi-squared test.


Bone & Joint Open
Vol. 2, Issue 10 | Pages 865 - 870
20 Oct 2021
Wignadasan W Mohamed A Kayani B Magan A Plastow R Haddad FS

Aims

The COVID-19 pandemic drastically affected elective orthopaedic services globally as routine orthopaedic activity was largely halted to combat this global threat. Our institution (University College London Hospital, UK) previously showed that during the first peak, a large proportion of patients were hesitant to be listed for their elective lower limb procedure. The aim of this study is to assess if there is a patient perception change towards having elective surgery now that we have passed the peak of the second wave of the pandemic.

Methods

This is a prospective study of 100 patients who were on the waiting list of a single surgeon for an elective hip or knee procedure. Baseline characteristics including age, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grade, COVID-19 risk, procedure type, and admission type were recorded. The primary outcome was patient consent to continue with their scheduled surgical procedure. Subgroup analysis was also conducted to define if any specific patient factors influenced decision to continue with surgery


Bone & Joint Open
Vol. 2, Issue 8 | Pages 655 - 660
2 Aug 2021
Green G Abbott S Vyrides Y Afzal I Kader D Radha S

Aims

Elective orthopaedic services have had to adapt to significant system-wide pressures since the emergence of COVID-19 in December 2019. Length of stay is often recognized as a key marker of quality of care in patients undergoing arthroplasty. Expeditious discharge is key in establishing early rehabilitation and in reducing infection risk, both procedure-related and from COVID-19. The primary aim was to determine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic length of stay following hip and knee arthroplasty at a high-volume, elective orthopaedic centre.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study was performed. Patients undergoing primary or revision hip or knee arthroplasty over a six-month period, from 1 July to 31 December 2020, were compared to the same period in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic. Demographic data, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grade, wait to surgery, COVID-19 status, and length of hospital stay were recorded.


Bone & Joint Open
Vol. 2, Issue 10 | Pages 850 - 857
19 Oct 2021
Blankstein AR Houston BL Fergusson DA Houston DS Rimmer E Bohm E Aziz M Garland A Doucette S Balshaw R Turgeon A Zarychanski R

Aims

Orthopaedic surgeries are complex, frequently performed procedures associated with significant haemorrhage and perioperative blood transfusion. Given refinements in surgical techniques and changes to transfusion practices, we aim to describe contemporary transfusion practices in orthopaedic surgery in order to inform perioperative planning and blood banking requirements.

Methods

We performed a retrospective cohort study of adult patients who underwent orthopaedic surgery at four Canadian hospitals between 2014 and 2016. We studied all patients admitted to hospital for nonarthroscopic joint surgeries, amputations, and fracture surgeries. For each surgery and surgical subgroup, we characterized the proportion of patients who received red blood cell (RBC) transfusion, the mean/median number of RBC units transfused, and exposure to platelets and plasma.


Bone & Joint Open
Vol. 2, Issue 7 | Pages 530 - 534
14 Jul 2021
Hampton M Riley E Garneti N Anderson A Wembridge K

Aims

Due to widespread cancellations in elective orthopaedic procedures, the number of patients on waiting list for surgery is rising. We aim to determine and quantify if disparities exist between inpatient and day-case orthopaedic waiting list numbers; we also aim to determine if there is a ‘hidden burden’ that already exists due to reductions in elective secondary care referrals.

Methods

Retrospective data were collected between 1 April 2020 and 31 December 2020 and compared with the same nine-month period the previous year. Data collected included surgeries performed (day-case vs inpatient), number of patients currently on the orthopaedic waiting list (day-case vs inpatient), and number of new patient referrals from primary care and therapy services.


Bone & Joint Open
Vol. 2, Issue 2 | Pages 134 - 140
24 Feb 2021
Logishetty K Edwards TC Subbiah Ponniah H Ahmed M Liddle AD Cobb J Clark C

Aims

Restarting planned surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic is a clinical and societal priority, but it is unknown whether it can be done safely and include high-risk or complex cases. We developed a Surgical Prioritization and Allocation Guide (SPAG). Here, we validate its effectiveness and safety in COVID-free sites.

Methods

A multidisciplinary surgical prioritization committee developed the SPAG, incorporating procedural urgency, shared decision-making, patient safety, and biopsychosocial factors; and applied it to 1,142 adult patients awaiting orthopaedic surgery. Patients were stratified into four priority groups and underwent surgery at three COVID-free sites, including one with access to a high dependency unit (HDU) or intensive care unit (ICU) and specialist resources. Safety was assessed by the number of patients requiring inpatient postoperative HDU/ICU admission, contracting COVID-19 within 14 days postoperatively, and mortality within 30 days postoperatively.