Fellowship will enable shoulder specialist to promote multidisciplinary approach in India

_{Marcus Bateman (right) with British Elbow and Shoulder Society president Peter Brownson}

The visit to international meetings in New Delhi and Poona in 2019 is because of the British Elbow and Should Society’s Stephen Copeland fellowship, awarded to Mr Bateman at the society’s conference in Glasgow on 20 June.

He said the fellowship was a great honour, adding: ‘It’s the most prestigious fellowship awarded by the British Elbow and Shoulder Society – and only the second time it has been awarded.’

Stephen Copeland, a shoulder surgeon, was a founding member of the British Elbow and Shoulder Society. The fellowship, in his memory, is awarded every two years to three people, an allied health professional and two surgeons. All three 2018 winners will go to India early next year.

Mr Bateman described the British Elbow and Shoulder Society as an inclusive organisation. Of all the specialist orthopaedic societies, it had the highest number of physiotherapy members compared to surgeons, he said.

‘A multidisciplinary approach comes across very strongly in the society and is something we would like to promote to societies overseas,’ he said.

Multidisciplinary working has considerable benefits for patients, he said: ‘Many patients don‘t need surgery if they have appropriate physiotherapy.

‘Here in Derby, we have a close relationship with the surgeon and a shared decision-making approach as to whether a surgical or non-surgical path is the best for the patient.’