A new Orthopaedic Research Institute (ORI) has been launched at Bournemouth University, with the intention of working across the university and with local hospitals and industry partners to carry out research that will improve patient care and develop clinician practice in the UK.
ORI is being led by Professor Rob Middleton and Associate Professor Tom Wainwright, both of whom have national and international reputations for their research work.
Professor Middleton said:
“Establishing ORI stems from our passion for improving the quality of care for orthopaedic patients. Our previous research has demonstrated that enhanced recovery pathways can make a significant difference both to patient recovery and clinical practice.
"By delivering multi-disciplinary support from the beginning of a patient’s journey, we can improve quality of care and reduce the length of hospital stay needed. We are particularly pleased to be establishing ORI within Dorset, as the number of orthopaedic surgeries carried out is high, so there is huge potential for our research to make a real difference to clinical practice and patients in the area.”
Associate Professor Tom Wainwright said,
“We are very grateful for the generous support from Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), which is enabling us to purchase state-of-the-art gait analysis equipment, allowing us to further develop our clinical research.
"We will be working closely with local hospitals and practitioners to ensure that our research is tackling the issues they face on a daily basis.”
Keep up to date with the developments of ORI here.
Commenting for Bournemouth University, Professor John Fletcher, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, said:
“Health related research is well established at Bournemouth University and our academics are already working with practitioners, clinicians and other organisations across the region, nationally and internationally, to improve treatment, professional practice and patient outcomes.
"We are delighted to be adding to our research expertise by establishing ORI and working with local partners to deliver solutions to issues that will only grow as people live longer. Our research will make a real difference to peoples’ lives not only here in Dorset but also globally.”
ORI’s work will be made possible thanks to generous funding from the Dorset LEP. Charmain Gordon Page commented:
“The launch of ORI heralds an exciting time for Dorset. The programme has the potential to drive up to £100 million of investment into the region within its first five years, whilst generating up to 500 new direct and indirect jobs.
"It is great example of the key role that we, the LEP, play in supporting local business and economic growth. Our goal is to ensure that our local area prospers through strategic, long term investment. This means improving Dorset’s infrastructure, upskilling its work force, supporting better housing, and funding world class research facilities like ORI to boost key sectors.”
For more information to the background of ORI click here.