The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH),
is aiming to raise £1.5 million to help fund the UKs first Veterans Orthopaedic Centre to provide individualised patient care for veterans and serving military personnel.
The aim of the Veterans Orthopaedic Centre Appeal is to further expand on the Veterans Service, currently provided at the hospital, by providing a dedicated environment specifically designed for their care.
The current NHS-run service is led by Lieutenant Colonel Carl Meyer, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, as well as a serving officer in the British Army, and mostly treats arthritic lower limb problems, especially those requiring hip and knee replacements.
Lt Col Meyer first set up exclusive veterans clinics at the hospital in 2014, and this project will allow him to fulfil and ambition of operating out of a dedicated centre, providing a full range of orthopaedic care to veterans and serving military personnel in a setting that feels familiar to them and addresses their specific needs physically, mentally and emotionally.
Demand for the service has trebled over the past year between April 2017 - June 2018, Lt Col Meyer carried out almost 300 operations, and saw more than 2,400 outpatients.
Lt Col Meyer said: Veterans and service personnel have and do serve our Queen and country. There are very few professions where going to work places you at risk of dying or being severely injured, and I think that level of commitment and service should absolutely be recognised.
The £1.5 million target will build a veterans Outpatients Department comprising of six clinic rooms, which will be part of the hospitals current Main Outpatient Department. The building will be decorated in a military fashion.