Shoulder unit

The Royal Free London shoulder unit delivers shoulder expertise in a multidisciplinary way across north London. Out-patient services are offered at Barnet Hospital, Chase Farm Hospital, Edgware Community Hospital, Finchley Memorial Hospital, Potters Bar Community Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital.

Surgery is performed at our three main hospitals: Barnet Hospital, Chase Farm Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital.

Our team comprises surgeons, consultant physiotherapists, an extended scope practitioner and two teams of specialist shoulder therapists. A consultant radiologist with experience in shoulder imaging provides direct clinic and elective radiology support. All clinical staff are members of the British Shoulder and Elbow Society (BESS).

The shoulder unit provides specialist opinion and intervention for patients, while placing an emphasis on teaching, training and academic advancement through research, both local and national.
We consult with over 1,000 elective referral patients and manage 500 fracture patients each year. Surgery is performed on over 600 patients each year. The procedures performed range from arthroscopic shoulder surgery to primary and revision joint replacements, all of which are reported to the National Joint Registry.

Shoulder therapists manage the rehabilitation of these patients and treat elective referrals from the shoulder clinics, primary care clinics and offer expert opinion for complex rehabilitation issues. Clinics are multidisciplinary and are offered as ‘one-stop’ as much as possible, with ‘on the day’ radiology and injection when appropriate.

Research
The unit is currently involved in three national clinical trials approved by BESS. Ongoing local projects include development of local care pathways in collaboration with our local health partners.
Patient information literature is being developed to support the choices available from the clinics.