Outgoing interim Chair – Mr Tim Wilton
Over the last year I have undertaken the role of interim Chair of the NJRSC, following the departure of our previous Chair, Laurel Powers-Freeling and pending the appointment of her successor Professor Sir Paul Curran from 1 May 2022. I thank Laurel for her invaluable service to the NJR over the previous ten years and I welcome Sir Paul to the NJR and look forward to supporting him as Medical Director and Vice Chair.
During this time the NJR has delivered a challenging programme of work. Details of all our key workstreams and achievements and updates from the previous year, can be found in the section on NJR Developments.
There have been a few changes to NJRSC membership during the period. My sincere thanks to outgoing members, Sandra Lawrence and Jeff Stonadge, industry representatives, for their outstanding contributions and I welcome Joshua Bridgens who succeeded Sandra in April. Also, my thanks to co-opted members Sharon Knight, MHRA representative, for supporting our continued close working relations with the MHRA and Professor John Skinner for his valuable contribution this year (and previously) as BOA President, which continues our important relationship with the orthopaedic profession. I look forward to welcoming their successors.
I am pleased to confirm the re-appointments for a further term of office of Professor Mark Wilkinson, Public Heath/Epidemiology representative, Professor Mike Reed and Professor Amar Rangan, Orthopaedic Surgeon representatives and Professor Karen Barker, OBE, representative Practitioner with a Special Interest in orthopaedics. My sincere thanks to them and all members of the NJRSC and sub-committees, in particular the committee Chairs, for the valuable contribution they make. I would encourage you to read the committee reports which provide an insight into the NJR’s key work areas.
I also express my gratitude to the orthopaedic surgeons who comprise the NJR Regional Clinical Coordinators (RCCs) committee and who champion our work at local level. We have recruited several new RCCs over the year and I look forward to working with them and further developing our local networks.
Thank you also to the NJR contractors: NEC Software Solutions UK Limited and the University of Bristol, with congratulations to both for their success in being awarded the contracts once again, following a rigorous procurement process undertaken last year. My appreciation goes to Professor Ashley Blom who stepped down after eleven years as the contract lead at Bristol. I very much look forward to working with his successor Professor Michael Whitehouse.
Finally, special thanks to the NJR Management team who support the work of the NJR and its committees which are increasingly diverse and complex. The work this year with re-procurement of our main supplier contracts has been especially exacting and the team has risen to these and other challenges with energy and good humour despite the difficulties of working with all the constraints of the pandemic. My particular thanks go to Elaine Young, Chris Boulton and Yemi Garuba for keeping all our plans on track.
Incoming Chair – Professor Sir Paul Curran
Appointment from 1 May 2022
It is a great honour to have been appointed as Chair of the world’s largest registry of joint replacement surgery. What I particularly like about the NJR is its standing as a pioneering, trusted and collaborative registry, that produces significant benefit for patients. This is an exciting time to be joining the NJR as it informs the ambitious national agenda to develop a medical device information system for patient safety and starts to harness the power of big data analytics.
I first became aware of the important contribution this registry made when, as Chair of the national Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration, we used the Carter Review evidence on how best to reduce variation in patient outcomes. My review of this 19th NJR Annual Report has provided me with the opportunity to reflect on the considerable amount of work undertaken by the registry over the past year, and the contribution it has made to patients, the orthopaedic profession, implant manufacturers and the many stakeholders who support or are served by the NJR. I commend the Editorial Committee Chair, Professor Mike Reed and committee members, who produced this excellent and informative document.
Already in my induction meetings, I have had the pleasure to meet many of the talented professionals involved in the work of the NJR. I am immensely proud to be working with such a committed team of people who have contributed to the status of the NJR as a global exemplar of a medical device registry.
Particularly, I would like to thank my predecessor Laurel Powers-Freeling, who served as the NJR Chair for ten years until April 2021 and during this time led the registry through a period of significant development and achievement. My sincere thanks also go to Mr Tim Wilton, NJR Medical Director and Vice Chair, who undertook the role of interim Chair until my recent appointment. I am grateful to him for his leadership of the registry during this time.
Finally, the 19th NJR Annual Report is a welcome reminder of what a privilege it will be to be Chair during the next stage of the NJR’s evolution and I am looking forward to meeting and working with everyone involved in its work.