Have You Heard About Joint School?

Brynmor
Brynmor Member Posts: 1,755
edited 18. Jun 2021, 09:12 in Living with arthritis

Joint School for hip or knee replacement surgery

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When I had my TKR (total knee replacement) I got the following information below from my Health Board. Looking around it seems most areas now offer Joint School. There is even a Joint School App for those who have had their operation postponed.


Before your operation, you will be invited to attend Joint School at the hospital.

This is a patient focussed education programme lasting approximately 2 hours, which gives you the opportunity to speak to the hospital staff and find out everything you need to know about your hip or knee replacement.


The kind of things that you will learn about include:

  • Information about your joint
  • How to prepare before surgery: Exercises to do, preparing your home, involving your family
  • Coming to the hospital: where to go, when to arrive, what to bring
  • The anaesthetic: What are the options available?
  • Your recovery in hospital: What to expect
  • Managing pain after surgery: medication and other techniques
  • How long will you be in hospital? How will you know when you can safely return home?
  • Living with your new joint: What will it look like? What will you be able to do and not do?


Have you been to Joint School? What did you think of it? How long were you in hospital?

Let us know how it was for you in the Comments below.

Thanks

Yvonne x

Comments

  • Lilymary
    Lilymary Member Posts: 1,740

    Is this a new initiative? Given my THR was only 8 weeks ago, at no stage was this specific programme mentioned to me. Is this a referral by your GP or the hospital? If by the hospital, it means a long delay in even getting to this stage, given how hard it is to even get a first consultation, and ongoing pressures on NHS staff.

    To be fair to my hospital, I did get much of this info in written form, but there was no face to face support at this level of detail. Hippie friends fulfilled that role, along with info on this site. But this service would be particularly valuable for anxious or isolated patients.

  • remmingtonwildhunter
    remmingtonwildhunter Member Posts: 66

    I went on a one in 2018 before my sub tallor ankle fusion met a mature lady who was 18 months post opp who had just come back from skiing on the Black routes...

    Well run lots of info from physios nurses and some one who has had the opp you are going to have...

    Well worth the two hours..

  • Bic1982
    Bic1982 Member Posts: 31

    I went to joint school for both of my total knee replacement ops in 2018 and 2020.

    I found them very informative and it was nice to have access to professionals for a period of time to ask questions or to go through concerns. All the information that we were run through was then available for us to take away which was very helpful. It included what to take in to hospital with us as well as the exercises we needed to do.

    I really thought is was an asset to the department and to all of us patients.

  • janiebin
    janiebin Member Posts: 53

    I was offered the Joint School app from my hospital last year when I was on the waiting list for a THR . It is run by myrecovery and is available for iOS and Android, smart phones, ipads and tablets. https://jointschool.app

    It is introduced by Dr Axel an ortho consultant and he interviews guest surgeons, physios, nurses and patients. Some weeks it is live and other times it is a video on Youtube . The range of topics are similar to those mentioned above, as well as how to prepare for a video consultation. It also included two conversations with Sunny pre and post op. What I found very interesting but scary was that Sunny had day surgery! I had not known that this was available. I don't think I would have been brave enough to opt for that - fortunately I was not given the choice. I had three days in hospital six months ago and am very grateful for a new hip.

    I would recommend the Joint School app if you don't have the chance for a two hour face to face with your surgical team. I did feel that I was well informed by the input from the app backed up by the literature sent through from the hospital.

    So have a look at the app or ask your consultants team about it and spread the word so that it becomes recommended to everyone who needs joint replacements.

  • Nannanic
    Nannanic Member Posts: 5

    Yes, I attended one before my knee replacement in 2016, it was very useful and informative, with the opportunity to ask questions from the team ( surgeon, nurse, physio, & OT)

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