Orthopaedic Research (ORUK) recently hosted the first National Bunions Think Tank, in Association with Rosetrees Trust. The Think Tank included many of the country’s leading foot health experts, including primary care physicians, podiatrists, physiotherapists, surgeons, academics and research funders, who came together to discuss ways to improve patient care and identify areas requiring further research. 
The consensus in the room was that bunions, despite affecting around 10 million people in the UK alone, is underfunded and under-recognised as a serious, debilitating condition that impacts people’s personal, social and professional lives. There are also huge variations in the care provided to people with this condition, limited research on the most effective surgical and non-surgical interventions, especially when it comes to measuring long-term outcomes, and inconsistent and often ineffective patient information. The discussions were informed by a briefing paper, which can be downloaded from the ORUK website, plus films of patients talking about their experiences of living and working with the condition, and subsequent surgery.
The Think Tank discussions focused on four core areas – how to improve a patient pathway that is often confusing and frustrating, identifying the research required to improve knowledge and understanding of the most effective treatment options, improvements to the quality of patient information, and the case that needs to be made to policy makers and funders to take the condition more seriously. The event chair, Professor Jit Mangwani, Consultant Trauma and Orthopaedics, University Hospitals of Leicester and Honorary Secretary of the British Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Association described the discussions as ‘very insightful, inspirational and thought provoking, with great ideas on how to improve pathways and outcomes for patients suffering with this condition.’
Outputs from the Think Tank included several workstreams focused on pathways, research, patient education and policy. For further information, contact Jitendra Mangwani via Linkedin.