History of the BON

The Birmingham Orthopaedic Network – Conception, Development & Implementation

​In an era where completion of training requires diverse clinical and non-clinical requirements the need for an organised collaborative effort was needed. In July 2017 ideas and thoughts from several directions, both clinical and administrative, came together and the BON was conceived.

Mr U Ahmed, as a nationally appointed fellow on the BOA Clinical Leadership Programme, set about building the foundation of the BON with Mr B Ellis, Mr S Malik and Mr E Battaloglu.

The first target of setting up the BON website was completed by the the end of August, and by November 2017 Phase II was launched at the Naughton Dunn Winter Meeting. Simultaneously governance protocols and policies for audit, research and education were developed with the institution of the monthly BON Trainee Research Group meeting.

In September 2017, HEEWM Postgradute School of Surgery became a major stakeholder in this initiative with sponsorship and support of members of the senior team. Along the way there was significant acknowledgement from the British Orthopaedic Association and other hospitals in the region.

By 2018 the BON was part of the national collaborative development group which met in York in January after which there was an upsurge in activity with BON members provided data to the WAX and FEMOR studies, was invited in supporting a national collaborative projects with neurosurgery (UCES) and also taking the lead on developing a the DRAFFT Impact Study (DIS).

Solid foundations were also built with the University of Birmingham Medical School with enthusiastic medical students being supported in a variety of audit projects. One of whom was supported by the ROH Charity when accepted to present his work in Amsterdam at an international meeting.

The summer of 2018 saw the best attended Naughton Dunn meeting in years with almost 75 attendees from around the region. The reigns were handed over by Mr U Ahmed at the first executive meeting to Mr E Battaloglu and Mr B Ellis, supported by Mr S Malik.

In the early 2019, the BON was shortlisted, and later announced as a finalist for a national HSJ Value Award for Training and Development initiative of the year.

The BON continues to develop and grow as it drive forward a culture of collaboration and collegiality. Working together for a common goal.

Mr U Ahmed MBBS PhD FRCS(Tr&Orth)

Mr S Malik MB ChB MSc LLM FRCS(Tr&Orth)