• Reference Number: HEY718/2025
• Departments: Orthopaedics
• Last Updated: 31 August 2025

Introduction

This advice sheet has been developed to provide guidance on your visit to the Fracture Clinic and the Orthopaedic Outpatient Department to improve your experience.

As you book into the department, please inform the reception if you have arrived by ambulance transport.

Pain Management

It would be advisable to take pain relief medication before your visit. This will not affect the outcome of your examination and may increase your comfort.

When you visit the department, please bring your pain relief medication and any regular medication with you due to large patient numbers and unforeseen circumstances, as long unavoidable waiting times can occur. If you are diabetic, it is also advisable to arrive prepared with food and regular medication.

Waiting Times

Waiting times may vary depending on the length of individual consultations and variety of treatments required. Some treatments may require multiple visits to the plaster room. Please be aware that additional investigations may occur, such as blood tests, X-rays, ultrasound or CT (Computerised Tomography) scans. These investigations increase waiting times and it may take up to an hour for some results to be received. Prescriptions may also need collecting from Pharmacy after treatment has been applied.

To accommodate for the above, please allow 2 to 3 hours for appointments and arrange childcare and transport as required.

Please note vulnerable patients will be prioritised and we thank you for your co-operation regarding this.

Additional Notes

Patients are seen in appointment time order, NOT time of arrival. Due to the limited space in the department, please keep accompanying family / carers to a minimum.

Please check with your insurer before driving a vehicle, as you may not be insured if you have a cast or splint and will need to make alternative transport arrangements.

Under the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018 we are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any information we hold about you. For further information visit the following page: Confidential Information about You. www.hey.nhs.uk/privacy/data-protection

If you or your carer needs information about your health and well being and about your care and treatment in a different format, such as large print, braille or audio, due to disability, impairment or sensory loss, please advise a member of staff and this can be arranged.

General Advice and Consent

Most of your questions should have been answered by this leaflet, but remember that this is only a starting point for discussion with the healthcare team.

Consent to treatment

Before any doctor, nurse or therapist examines or treats you, they must seek your consent or permission. In order to make a decision, you need to have information from health professionals about the treatment or investigation which is being offered to you. You should always ask them more questions if you do not understand or if you want more information.

The information you receive should be about your condition, the alternatives available to you, and whether it carries risks as well as the benefits. What is important is that your consent is genuine or valid. That means:

• you must be able to give your consent
• you must be given enough information to enable you to make a decision
• you must be acting under your own free will and not under the strong influence of another person

Information about you

We collect and use your information to provide you with care and treatment. As part of your care, information about you will be shared between members of a healthcare team, some of whom you may not meet. Your information may also be used to help train staff, to check the quality of our care, to manage and plan the health service, and to help with research. Wherever possible we use anonymous data.

We may pass on relevant information to other health organisations that provide you with care. All information is treated as strictly confidential and is not given to anyone who does not need it. If you have any concerns please ask your doctor, or the person caring for you.

Under the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018 we are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any information we hold about you. For further information visit the following page: Confidential Information about You.

If you or your carer needs information about your health and wellbeing and about your care and treatment in a different format, such as large print, braille or audio, due to disability, impairment or sensory loss, please advise a member of staff and this can be arranged.