To meet patient needs, Prosthetic and Orthotic services must meet all of the following 10C's from the International Charter adopted by the Associate Parliamentary Limb Loss Group.
Patients need to be able to choose from a variety of convenient high-quality providers, with clear and consistent information and advice to back that choice, money following the patient, and staff having freedom to meet patients' expectations - the location of fitting needs to be convenient with a choice of appointment time to meet the needs of an adult patient and any carer or a child patient and his/her parents/carers - all children with a need at birth should be referred to a specialist within the first month of life, and assumptions should not be made that a child will not be suited to the fitting of such support devices;
Equipment must provide adequate support and comfort to enable the patient to achieve optimal pain-free function and independence. Staff must be properly trained to assess children and in particular comfort in children;
Equipment must be appropriate to each patient's requirements, mechanically safe, easily maintained and easy to use - instructions must be given which are suitable for and understandable by children wherever possible as well as their parents - there should be a single point of contact for advice about maintenance/recreation/travel/safety etc;
Where necessary for self-esteem, equipment must be cosmetically acceptable commensurate with optimal function - needs of children and of young people, at the early stages of developing a positive self-image, must be met;
All healthcare professionals whether from the NHS, contractors to the NHS, or the voluntary sectors, must (be enabled to) have the appropriate educational and career opportunities in order to develop and sustain their competencies and skills - staff should be specially trained in dealing with both disabled adult and disabled children's needs;
Budgets must provide adequate capacity for cost-effective and patient-effective services;
Patients and carers must be equal partners with professionals in the planning and the operation of services;
Services delivered must not vary with location except where explicable by clinical variables;
Key performance indicators must calibrate the degree to which services improve health and social outcomes for individuals and for populations;
Caring is the catalyst, respecting dignity and privacy, throughout the entire patient pathway - it is especially important to re-assess growing children every 3-6 months to make sure that they always have optimal comfort and performance from their devices, and to respect the views of older persons.
(Please Note: Patients may require a combination of prostheses, orthoses, wheelchairs, special seating and other assistive technologies as part of their service).
You can find a PDF download and printable version of The 10C's on the APLLG Charters Page here.