Share your views on how to support people waiting for hip and knee surgery

The #SolvingTogether crowdsourcing platform launched yesterday (24 January) and is inviting contributions over the next four weeks.

The online challenge wants to hear from anyone who has good ideas and/or knows of effective practices or tools that can help people in the NHS, and their partners, to reduce waiting times and support people to stay as well as possible while they wait for hip or knee replacement surgery.

• If you are a healthcare professional, what can people like you do to support those awaiting hip and knee replacement operations manage their health and wellbeing?
•  If you are waiting or supporting someone who is waiting for surgery, how can the NHS help you best manage your health and wellbeing until you have your hip and knee replacement operation?
• If you are a care, community or voluntary sector leader, what are you or your organisation currently doing to help people who are waiting for hip and knee replacement operations and how can we help you further?

Championing the best ideas

#SolvingTogether aims to gather comments, suggestions, examples of best practice, feedback from personal experiences that will be used to help create a set of high value changes that can be rolled out across the country – and linked to local, regional and nationwide initiatives to support people waiting for hip or knee replacement surgery.

The platform offers the opportunity to engage with others – via tweet chat – and a team of community managers will be monitoring all activity, helping to connect people and ensuring that every idea that is submitted receives an engaging response.

And while the platform remains open, topic experts or “champions” will also be evaluating all of the content and then, once the crowdsourcing challenge closes, every idea, vote and comment that has been submitted will be reviewed and themed.

Following this, the most promising approaches will be tested and prototyped by NHS England and the best practices spread widely.

You can share your ideas, experiences and best practice on the platform here

Alongside the CSP, the #SolvingTogether is also been supported by Versus Arthritis, Arthritis Action, the British Orthopaedic Association and the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance.