In the News

The BOA represents the trauma and orthopaedic profession both through the media and with key stakeholders to influence policy and highlight the issues that that are important to members and patients, such as delays to orthopaedic surgery and its effects on patients and trainees. BOA spokespeople feature regularly in radio, TV and print interviews on the current NHS waiting lists for elective sugery. Below are a few examples of where the BOA has been quoted in the printed press. 

We have also responded to a number of consultations during the last year, which we hope will go some way to making an impact on policy changes. You can view these on our Policy and Position Statements page.

20th September 2024
Mediaplanet launched a Health Awareness campaign on Pain Management. The campaign featured an article from BOA President, Mark Bowditch, which discusses how patients suffering from chronic conditions such as back pain and arthritis could benefit from one of the new technologies transforming the management of long-term pain. 

2nd October 2023
We along with British Association for Surgery of the Knee (BASK) published a paper about How to tackle the increased rate of ACL injuries in women’s football. This paper got extensive coverage in the following media outlets: BBC, Daily Mail, Express and Star, Morning Star, Jersey Evening Post, RTÉ.ie (Ireland), Yahoo Sport UK, Yahoo Canada, Gettotext.com (German Language health site) and Medical Device Network.

23rd February 2023
ITV News Wales published a news story on the waiting lists in Wales and the frustrations of patients waiting for a hip replacement surgery. Professor Deborah Eastwood, President of the BOA, was interviewed for the story and spoke about the how T&O surgeons in Wales felt about tackling the issue of long waiting list, highlighting “I think they feel that they are at a catastrophic level. The numbers are far too high and they are not coming down noticeably.”

15th December 2022
Media Planet launched the Senior Health 2022 campaign, which was published in the Guardian Newspaper. It featured an article by BOA President Deborah Eastwood who writes about what to look out for to keep your joints healthy and lessen the chances of symptoms developing from joint degeneration while ageing normally. She also urges to look out for signs of arthritis, including pain, stiffness, swelling and a feeling of grating within the joint — often in the knees and hips.

20th June 2022
The Daily Telegraph published an article on seven expert-approved strategic ways of protecting joints from ‘wear and tear’ arthritis in the long term. The article quoted Deborah Eastwood, President-elect of the BOA, recommending gentle strengthening exercises, good eating habits and positive mental attitude to get joint-fostering benefits and improved ways of coping with aches and pain.

9th June 2022
Media Planet launched the Managing Pain 2022 campaign which was published in the Guardian Newspaper. It featured an article by BOA President John Skinner on ways of managing pain while waiting for surgery. He urges patients to stay active and healthy – both physically and mentally – to ensure better a outcome from their surgery and a quicker recovery.

2nd May 2022
On Friday 29th April The Times front page included the article 'Stop taking painkillers for arthritis, patients told', which discussed new National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines for osteoarthritis patients that the Government is consulting on. The BOA's letter to the Editor in response to the article was published on Monday 2nd May 2022. You can read our full letter here.

12th October 2021
The i newspaper covered data showing that more than 588,000 patients were waiting for T&O surgery - the largest for over a decade according to the BOA.

6th July 2021
The Daily Mail published an article on findings that over 160,000 hip and knee replacement operations were delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which quoted BOA President Bob Handley on the issue.

30th June 2021
The BMJ published an article on the back log of surgeries due to COVID-19. BOA Vice President John Skinner is quoted on the deteriorating condition of patients who are waiting.

18th May 2021
Good Housekeeping published an article on foot care which quoted past President Don McBride.

14th May 2021
The Sun published an article on record waiting lists, which quoted BOA Vice President John Skinner on the issues facing patients.

24th March 2021
The BOA was quoted in a number of articles featuring research which showed that many patients waiting for surgery were left in pain that was 'worse than death'. This research was covered in the Daily Mail, Guardian, The Times, The Scotsman, the Belfast Telegraph and the Evening Standard.

5th December 2020
The BBC published an article on leg lengthening and quoted Professor Hamish Simpson of the BOA on the potential hazards.

23rd November 2020
The Daily Mail published an article on patients undergoing operations without general anaesthetic and quoted BOA's statement on the number of patients waiting for trauma and orthopaedic surgery over 18 weeks.

17th November 2020
The Times published an article on the delays for joint replacement and cataract surgery and quoted the BOA’s statement that it is more expensive in the long run to delay these much needed elective surgeries.

21st October 2020
The Independent published an article on the cancellation of elective surgery in the wake of a second COVID-19 wave impacting on the NHS. The BOA was quoted as saying that the NHS must continue elective operations for as long as possible.

9th October 2020
BBC Radio Manchester interviewed Professor Phil Turner, past President of the BOA, on the NHS waiting times data and the impact delays are having on the quality of life of patients.

September 2020
Arthritis & You campaign published a supplement in the Guardian Newspaper, featuring an article by Bob Handley, BOA President, on what you can do while waiting for joint replacement surgery

29th August 2020
The Daily Telegraph published an article on how the NHS shutdown has lead to nearly 300,000 people waiting for orthopaedic operations. The article quoted Professor Phil Turner on the devastating impact the delays are having on patients.

14th July 2020
Open Democracy published an article on the need for self-isolation prior to hospital treatment and highlighted the BOA wrote to NHS England over the eligibility for people who are self-isolating to receive Statutory Sick Pay.

28th June 2020
The Daily Mail published an article based on an interview with Professor Philip Turner, past President of the BOA, on the NHS reprioritising patients waiting for orthopaedic surgery.

The interview was also covered in the Daily Telegraph.

11th June 2020
The i news published an article on the NHS waiting lists and included a joint statement from the BOA and Versus Arthritis on the impact pausing elective surgery to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic has caused.

11th May 2020
Healio website interviewed Don McBride, BOA President, on patient handling during the COVID-19 pandemic.

12th October 2019
The Daily Telegraph published an article on new league tables comparing hip operations on 430 hospitals across the UK. 

4th October 2019
The Health Service Journal published a report on outlier trusts for orthopaedic surgery. 

27th June 2019
The Times (supplement) published an article on the rising incidence of hip and knee replacements.

15th February 2019
BBC News reported that most hip and knee replacements ‘last longer than thought’.

6th January 2019
i news carries statements from the RCS and BOA correcting misunderstandings on linking NHS obesity figures and joint replacement surgery.

8th November 2018
The BOA was part of a group of health bodies that wrote a letter to health secretary Matt Hancock asking the government to make it a priority to reduce waiting times for elective surgery.  The letter was reported in the BMJ, Onmedica and Public Finance.

13th August 2018
The Daily Mail reported that patients are turning to private surgery for hip and eye surgery.

27th July 2018
The Daily Telegraph and Health Service Journal reported on an investigation which showed Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in Sussex have proposed that patients endure ‘intense and persistent’ pain before being recommended for surgery.

18th July 2018
The BMJ, the Daily Mail, the Daily Telegraph and the Independent report that nearly 1700 requests for knee and hip surgery were rejected in England and Wales last year.

13th February 2018
The Times reported that elderly people are waiting longer for hip fracture operations.

17th January 2018
The Scottish Times reported that delays of six months for hip surgery were now commonplace.