Dr Simon Perkins
TPCH has recently welcomed Dr Simon Perkins to the role of Director of Orthopaedic Surgery TPCH.
As Director, Simon is excited about the opportunity to lead and work with a skilled team of professionals to further enhance the reputation and quality of Queensland’s largest public joint replacement centre which performs 1,200 operations each year.
An Australian trained surgeon, Dr Perkins has extensive experience in orthopaedics, having worked in the field for the past 11 years, which included an 18-month fellowship in the United Kingdom in complex revision arthroplasty – his special interest.
Dr Perkins is not new to TPCH, having worked here as a registrar in 2017 and in again in 2019 before moving to London with his family to work in St George’s University Hospital where he incidentally ended up working in the ICU caring for COVID-19 patients during the height of the pandemic. He returned to TPCH in August 2021 as a staff specialist orthopaedic surgeon.
In his new role, Simon is keen to drive the service to become a centre of excellence in Arthroplasty care as well as one of the largest Fractured Neck of Femur (NOF) centres in the country. A feat which is well on its way.
In 2021, the service which currently treats around 500 patients every year, was awarded in the top 10 in the Australia New Zealand Hip Fracture Registry for performance against the Hip Fracture Care Clinical Care Standard.
The Fractured NOF service, located in 2D, is a collaboration between Orthopaedic Surgery and Geriatric Medicine, and treats some of the most unwell patients in the community who require treatment primarily due to a fall.
“Due their age, our patients generally have other co-morbidities and clinical issues which can make their treatment and recovery quite complex,” Dr Perkins said.
“It is vital that these patients have timely surgery within 48 hours and access to the appropriate multidisciplinary care in order to achieve good outcomes and reduce the risk of complications.”
Dr Perkins is also keen to maintain and promote a healthy research culture. The service has a dedicated Research Unit supported by a research nurses and an orthopaedic professorial position with QUT who are involved with various research projects and activities throughout TPCH including multi-centre and international studies in orthopaedic surgery. One of the most active research groups is the NOFEAR (Network for Orthopaedic and Fracture Education and Research (NOFEAR) Unit which aims is to promote pragmatic clinical research and knowledge translation to practice to achieve best outcomes for hip fracture and orthopaedic patients. Research outcomes and NOFEAR member advocacy have directly influenced clinically based evidence for best practice guidelines, both in Australia and internationally.
Outside of work, Simon enjoys being a dad to his four young children.