Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust's (WWL) Consultant Orthopaedic Shoulder Surgeon, Professor Puneet Monga, paid a visit to the orthopaedic team at Manx Care for the first of a number of new dedicated shoulder outpatient clinics for Isle of Man patients.
The joint venture between WWL and Manx Care, to improve the pathway and patient experience specifically for Isle of Man patients, means that patients can now see Professor Monga on-Island for their initial appointment and follow up rather than having to travel. Any surgery arising from initial appointment is still undertaken off-Island by Professor Monga, allowing for consultant-patient continuity throughout the patient’s treatment.
The first clinic was extremely successful with 15 patients attending as planned, allowing both the on-Island orthopaedic team, led by Mr Sean Crerand and Professor Monga, to work collaboratively to undertake their respective clinics. This gave the local team an excellent educational opportunity to gain valuable clinical experience by working alongside Professor Monga, who has substantial expertise in treating patients with shoulder problems at WWL’s Wrightington Hospital, a specialist referral centre for Orthopaedic problems.
Professor Monga commented: "Over the years, I have been involved in managing many patients with shoulder problems from the Isle of Man. The arrangement often involves multiple visits for consultations before and after surgery, and for patients from the IOM, this can be inconvenient to travel back and forth. This can affect their wellbeing and can lead to reluctance in seeking health care, it is also not a viable solution for sustainability reasons. We hope these clinics in the IOM will address these issues while continuing to provide high standards of surgical care at Wrightington Hospital."
Manx Care’s CEO, Teresa Cope said: "We are delighted to announce these new clinics, working alongside Professor Monga. We have a well-established relationship with him as he has been working with Isle of Man patients for over twelve years. These clinics will improve the service we are able to offer on-Island, improve the patient experience as well as providing support and training for our staff. I am grateful to the Orthopaedic Team, Professor Monga and WWL for helping us to establish these important clinics."