One of our core values is to maintain a strong ethical backbone in all areas of our business, whether that be helping our customers keep dressings dry with an affordable solution or support medical teams with career and professional development (CPD) initiatives. We are proud that over many years our focus on education and training means that we have been able to provide financial support and bursaries to a wide range of NHS clinical teams and professional bodies.
Thesis Technology’s links with the NHS stretch back almost to the start of our business. Our founders worked closely with the orthopaedic practitioners at Southampton General Hospital who assisted with testing our flagship product, the LimbO Waterproof Protector, sharing both their own and their patients’ feedback. These practitioners soon became LimbO fans and helped to grow awareness of the product across NHS orthopaedic and fracture teams throughout the UK.
Over many years funding for the NHS has been a point of enormous debate and successive governments have been criticised for not providing the financial support needed to properly resource the institution and ensure appropriate levels of training. For over 20 years, we have run an educational scheme to support clinical teams across the NHS whose patients may use a LimbO, including, amongst others, plaster teams, podiatrists, IV access teams, physiotherapists and occupational therapists. To date the scheme has raised more than £75,000 for training and development of these teams. This is a voluntary contribution from us and we take great care to ensure that we do not conflict with ethics of the NHS. The LimbO educational support scheme funds are administered transparently and have been used by teams to attend conferences, training days or for CPD; to cover annual professional body fees; to purchase items that support their work; and even for donations to a charity of their choosing.
For many years orthopaedic casting was not viewed as a specialism, despite thousands of people breaking a limb every year. In fact, it was not until 1982 that a dedicated course was established to train plaster technicians. Today, the British Casting Certificate (BCC) is still the only nationally recognised qualification in the field. We have worked hard to support this important course both financially with our educational scheme and also providing product information and guidance during BCC training courses.
We are very proud of our relationship with the NHS, especially when we hear of the difference it makes to those working directly with patients across the UK:
“One of the biggest challenges to nurses is achieving continued professional development (CPD). Funding for CPD in nursing is stretched, making support from companies such as LimbO vital. LimbO’s sponsorship has enabled me to undertake relevant courses to further develop my skills and knowledge, which ultimately improves patient outcomes.”
Julia Judd, Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Southampton University Hospital
Although our day-to-day contact with NHS teams has been temporarily paused due to the Covid restrictions, we remain committed to remotely supporting this vital organisation in the same way we have always done. We are also looking forward to a time when we are able to return to a more normal way of working in close contact with the NHS and its incredible staff teams.
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