Trauma and Orthopaedics

We provide a full range of Orthopaedic procedures including joint replacement, upper limb, foot and ankle surgery. The service is based at Altnagelvin Hospital where all inpatient and day cases are performed; however outpatient clinics take place in Omagh, Enniskillen, Coleraine and Limavady.

We have 13 consultant orthopaedic surgeons working across 2 elective operating theatres and 1 trauma theatre. We have a team of orthopaedic anaesthetists to ensure that you are safely able to undergo your orthopaedic procedure. We also have 2 consultant ortho-physicians who manage the medical conditions of patient in the wards.

How to access our service

The orthopaedic service is accessed through your GP. If you feel you require a referral to our service you should make an appointment to discuss this with your GP.

Not every orthopaedic condition needs to be seen by an orthopaedic consultant and can be managed by our ICATS (Integrated Clinical Assessment and Treatment Service) team which combines expertise from a range of musculoskeletal disciplines.

Patients who have sustained a fracture or injury will usually be referred to the service following attendance at Emergency Department or Urgent Care and Treatment Centre. These pathways are known as emergency or unscheduled pathways for patients as they are as result of an injury or sudden onset condition like a bone infection.

Fracture/trauma patients are treated as both inpatients and outpatients.

Outpatients Services

The types of clinics provided include:

Orthopaedic clinics by consultant surgeons
Nurse led clinics for children with developmental dysplasia of the hip
Pre-op Assesment clinics by specialist nurses and anaesthetists
Arthroplasty review clinics by a specialist nurse
Fracture liaison clinics by nurses and radiographers
Osteoporosis clinics by consultant rheumatologist
Orthopaedic clinics for children are provided by paediatric orthopaedic consultants from the Belfast Trust and some of these are combined clinics with consultant paediatricians from the Western Trust.
Staff endeavour to have patients seen at local clinics but this is not always possible.

Monthly Waiting Times

Updated 24.01.25

Outpatient Appointments – January 2025

Below are the current maximum waiting times for patients being referred into the Trauma and Orthopaedic Service and how long patients are likely to wait for their initial consultation.

Outpatient Appointments – January 2025

Body Part that referral relates to	Number of weeks since referral to Consultant
Foot and Ankle	90 weeks
Upper limb	79 weeks
Joint replacement and other	82 weeks

In-Patient / Day Case – January 2025

Once seen in outpatients and listed for surgery, patients are added to the Day Case/Inpatient waiting list and below are the current maximum waiting times that patients are likely to wait for their operation. All major procedures and some others will require pre-admission assessment prior to treatment and this usually takes place 2-3 months prior to the admission date.

In-Patient / Day Case – January 2025

Body Part that referral relates to	Maximum Weeks waiting Inpatients	Maximum Weeks waiting Day Case
Foot and Ankle	351.8 weeks	362 weeks
Upper limb	405.1 weeks	460.8 weeks
Joint replacement and other	454.4 weeks	417.8 weeks