Bone and Joint Canada
Expands its Mandate

James P. Waddell, M.D., FRCSC
Coordinator, Canadian National Action Network
For the Bone and Joint Decade

Bone and Joint Canada, the "action arm" of the Bone and Joint Decade in this country addressing access to care for hip and knee replacement patients, has been extremely active in the past few months. We have been actively engaged in discussions with orthopaedic surgeons, hospital administration and government officials from Nova Scotia to help develop a programme for the province to address the current wait times for total joint replacement. There has been significant enthusiasm amongst all three parties about the proposals and we hope that our efforts will continue to be favourably received in that province.

As part of our ongoing commitment to improving access to care, we have formalized our relationship with the Alberta Bone and Joint Institute and have formed a National Hip and Knee Knowledge Translation Network. This is a continuation of our initial efforts, beginning at the COA Annual Meeting in Toronto in 2006, to bring together interested parties initially from the orthopaedic community to discuss impediments to care delivery for total joint replacement patients.

With established ongoing support from the federal government, a number of provincial agencies and IMHA, we have been able to engage orthopaedic surgeons, other health care personnel, hospital administrators and government officials from several provinces to define and address problems faced by orthopaedic patients in terms of receiving appropriate and timely care.

Our next meeting is scheduled in Calgary from April 4-5, 2008 for the Cross Country Check-Up. We anticipate expanding our mandate beyond hip and knee replacement surgery to the problem of hip and knee arthritis in general and other orthopaedic conditions.

While not taking our eye off the "hip and knee replacement ball" we feel it is important that all orthopaedic patients be considered when resource allocation for orthopaedic care is discussed.

The relationship between Bone and Joint Decade Canada and the Canadian Orthopaedic Foundation is being strengthened through our promotion of their Because You Can! Programme and our continued strong support for Hip Hip Hooray!. We feel that circumstances are rapidly improving for orthopaedic patients across the country and we are pleased to play a part in the continuing evolution of this important process. We are grateful for the support that we have received from the members of the Canadian Orthopaedic Association in our activities.