RSTN COVIDHand Recovery

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we care for patients and deliver services. During the initial wave of COVID-19, the Reconstructive Surgery Trials Network, in association with the British Association of Hand Therapists, conducted a survey to establish changes made to hand surgery services in response to the crisis.  This was published in JPRAS. The survey showed that hand surgery trauma services continued and the majority of elective services stopped. The major areas of change were in a move towards remote delivery of care and increase in surgery performed under local anaesthetic and outside of main theatres.

As services are continuing to adapt following almost two years of disruption, we are carrying out the RSTN COVID Hand Recovery Survey with the aim of understanding whether changes made during COVID have endured. We hope this will allow comparison of the organisation of services at the start of the pandemic with the COVID recovery phase. 

This survey is planned to coincide with the COVID recovery phase described in the H2 planning guidance. It will also aim to capture current practice in Scotland, Wales and Ireland, where these guidelines may not be followed. 

The survey was developed by a group of hand surgeons, trainees and hand therapists. It has been badged by both the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS) and the British Society for Surgery of the Hand (BSSH). 

Study aims

·      To understand whether changes to hand surgery services made during the COVID pandemic have endured into the COVID recovery phase

·      Provide feedback to relevant surgical associations regarding current hand surgery practices during the COVID recovery phase

·      Identify future areas of hand surgery research 

How to get involved

We invite one consultant hand surgeon from each unit to complete this survey. For the purposes of this survey, please describe and refer to your department’s practice in the month of February 2022 as the ‘COVID recovery phase’. It may take up to 15 minutes to complete. 

If the previous survey was completed in your unit, we ask that the same consultant (if possible) completes this survey. 

All consultant hand surgeons submitting a completed survey, will be offered the opportunity to be a collaborator on any future publication.

The survey will be hosted on the REDCap platform and can be accessed here.

The data dictionary can be viewed here to see the variables that will be recorded.