Veteran patients at Shropshire hospital can tap in to new mobile phone app

The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital, near Oswestry, has teamed up with myrecovery to launch the app, which is designed for orthopaedic patients and aims to help them feel more informed about their pre- and post-op care and treatment.

RJAH is the first NHS Trust to use the myrecovery app.

It is being trialled with patients under the veterans’ orthopaedic service, and could later be rolled out across the whole hospital.

Lieutenant Colonel Carl Meyer, consultant orthopaedic surgeon and serving officer in the British Army, who leads on the veterans’ orthopaedic service at the hospital, said he’s “thrilled to be working with myrecovery”.

He said: “It’s extremely exciting that my patients are now able to use and benefit from the app – it’s such a valuable tool when it comes to reducing their anxiety and concerns.

“They now have all the information they need at their fingertips, and all the content has been created and approved by the team so it’s accurate, up-to-date and reliable.”

The app includes videos from surgeons, physiotherapists and nurses who offer tips and advice from patients, as well as providing them with a way to track their progress on the road to recovery.

Tailored

Carl added: “Being able to monitor our patients' progress after discharge is the most important feature the app gives us and is a huge help when patients can be based all over the UK.

“The information on the app is also tailored to each individual patient and their recovery needs, rather than us relying on a one-size-fits-all approach.”

As well as improving patient experience, the creators of myrecovery will be releasing a number of important tools to help drive the best patient outcomes and highest levels of patient safety.

The myrecovery team say there are other potential benefits to the app, including reducing workload for hospital members of staff as it aims to keep patient phone calls and emails to a minimum.

Stuart Hubbard, head of partnerships at myrecovery, said: “We are extremely excited to be working with RJAH, who have a reputation for delivering top levels of orthopaedic patient care for more than 100 years.

“We are thoroughly enjoying working alongside their team of clinical experts in and look forward to developing the latest tools to support both orthopaedic patients and healthcare professionals.

“The app will also help RJAH when it comes to reporting data, helping staff to get a better understanding of patient disease progression, procedure outcomes, their performance and the care they provide.”