Legacy Room veterans centre opens at RNOH
The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital has opened a special centre in support of the veterans’ prosthetics programme. Called The Legacy Room in honour of military veterans and their service to the country, the new facility will rehabilitate veterans to their full potential. The service will also be extended to the civilian population with limb loss and deficiency.
The veterans’ prosthetics programme was set up to put into practice the key findings of the 2011 report ‘A better deal for military amputees’ by Dr Andrew Murrison MP.
The report recommended that a small number of multidisciplinary centres should provide specialist prosthetic and rehabilitation services, to ensure veterans have access to the same, high-quality care as is provided by the armed forces.
The RNOH Legacy Room features the largest Vector Elite Gait & Safety system in the UK, and the first for the adult population. The computerised robotic over-ground training system helps to promote mobility and independence while reducing the risk of injury to both patients and therapists. The Vector Gait system promotes faster rehabilitation in patients of all abilities by allowing people to begin more challenging rehabilitation activities sooner.
Nine prosthetic rehabilitation units (PRUs) across England have been selected to provide enhanced services to veterans who have lost a limb in service. The expertise and skills of the RNOH will be enhanced by this new facility and offer veterans access to the very best prosthetic rehabilitation services.
Rob Hurd, RNOH chief executive, said: “This is an exciting time for us and we are delighted and honoured that we have been selected as one of the national prosthetic rehabilitation units. For those service personnel who have given so much, the Legacy Room will offer the appropriate rehabilitation support they need, building upon the proud history the RNOH has of helping care for military veterans and civilians alike.”
Clare Tamsitt, operational manager for prosthetics & orthotics, said: “It has been an interesting and challenging journey to get to this point – however it means all our patients will ultimately benefit from advanced equipment and increased level of staffing to accommodate the complex needs of our patients and rehabilitate them safely and confidently. I feel honoured to have played a part in this and endeavour to strive for more, for our patients that are going through life-changing circumstances.”
