Orthocycle Foundation
Report of the trustees for the year ending 31[st] March, 2021
The Trustees of The Orthocycle Foundation Charity present their annual report and accounts for the year ended 31[st] March 2020 and confirm they comply with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011, the trust deed and the Charities SORP (FRS 102).
Our Aims
-
1 To recycle medical appliances from the UK to less developed countries
-
2 To build capacity in less developed countries by service provision and training
-
3 To organise and fund twinning programmes between the UK and less developed countries
Our Objectives
-
1 To provide a conduit for the recycling of medical appliances in less developed countries with the necessary infrastructure in the UK and abroad
-
2 To raise funds for the running of the operational arm of the charity 3 To aid capacity building in less developed countries by service provision, teaching, training and exchange programmes
-
4 To fund educational activity compatible with the aims of Orthocycle
Activity
-
1 The activity of Orthocycle was affected by the COVID 19 pandemic. There were limitations on gatherings, travel and activities. Orthocycle’s objectives are achieved, in part, by the provision of educational activity for doctors within the UK. The limitations on travel, especially to countries on the UK red list also diminished the ability of Orthocycle to pursue some of it’s objectives.This means that there is less to report compared to previous years, and less turnover of funds. There were still some achievements in line with the aims and objectives of the charity.
-
2 Orthocycle was not able to operate in Reyhanli in Turkey due to travel restrictions secondary to COVID. Turkey was on the red list
for almost the whole financial year. This means that we were not able to directly supply our colleagues in Reyhanli with surgical equipment. However, we were able to continue to contribute to the services provided locally by Dr Mahmoud, our Syrian orthopaedic surgical colleague. This was through financial support to allow him to continue to treat patients on our behalf and to fund patient operations as required. In previous years, Orthocycle has engaged with private hospitals in Hatay province to allow operations to be performed on Syrian refugees. The pandemic resulted in the cessation or limitation of activity in these hospitals. It remains to be seen if the activity in Reyhanli can be rekindled in the future. One idea of Dr Mahmoud was a partnership with a local hospital, and this was explored during a visit to Reyhanli prior to the lockdown. However, there were no further discussions or agreements due to the pandemic.
3 In the financial year 2019/2020, there had been a visit to Tumbi Hospital in Tanzania. We were introduced to the hospital by TUHEDA, a charity of expatriate Tanzanians in the UK. We had noted that there were shortages of basic surgical equipment and consumables in Tumbi Hospital. This included simple items such as orthopaedic drills and drill bits. As a result of the initial visit, items of surgical equipment and orthotics were shipped to Dar Es Salaam by courier. The items included a complete Hoffman 2 external fixator set and many orthotics. A second visit to Tumbi Hospital occurred in Octover 2020. This visit was to provide further surgical equipment and orthotics, and to contribute to surgical care of patients. The plan had been to identify patients who required particular types of surgical equipment, so that appropriate surgery would take place, and the patients would be followed up by Dr Bryceson. The week in Tanzania was marked by joint clinic and joint operating sessions to treat patients. However, there were technical problems. The equipment really needed further support for safe operating. This included intraoperative radiology. The Sign Nail set in Tumbi was incomplete. The set is normally restocked by the Sign Foundation if the appropriate audit has been carried out. The Sign Nail had not bee restocked, presumably due to lack of appropriate audit. Also, there were hardware issues – the nailing set seemed to be mechanically broken. Tumbi were charging patients for the use of external fixation equipment that had been supplied by us free of charge. This was explained by the medical staff as a routine co-pay charge of 10% of the cost of care, but we felt uncomfortable about this. Tanzania was placed on the UK red list in November 2020. This means that further travel during the financial year was not possible.
- 4 We were also able to visit the Muhimbili Orthopaedic Hospital in Dar Es Salaam. This appeared to be well resourced, with several image
intensifiers. The clinicians encountered were keen to interact with us to rekindle ilizarov surgery at Muhimbil. We have to consider that for the safe practice of orthopaedic surgery, there are minimum levels of support such as radiology required and this tertiary referral centre may be a more appropriate location for the partnership to occur. They have requested that we draw up a memorandum of understanding.
-
5 Orthocycle was unable to hold a fundraising dinner in 2020/2021 due to the COVID pandemic.
-
6 There were no courses run by Orthocycle in 2020/2021. This was a result of the ban on gatherings due to COVID 19 and there was also a moratorium on study leave for medical staff. The risk from courses is that there is mixing of people from different areas of the country, so this could result in a superspreader event. Also there is a risk of infecting medical personnel who are also urgently required to continue their medical duties to keep the NHS functional despite the pandemic. The course are a significant function of Orthocycle, but due to this unique circumstance, we have to delay any courses until legislation determines that such gatherings are allowed again.
-
7 Surgical equipment for recycling has continued to be collected throughout the year. We have been fortunate that the public have continued to donate old orthotics, and we have been able to send shipments to Tanzania. These included a whole Hoffman 2 external fixator set, and a large number of orthotic boots and knee braces. We were able to feed back to donors with photos of these items being used by patients in Tanzania.
-
8 The Orthocycle website has been further expanded. There are active Twitter feeds and a Linked In feed. Trustee Carol-Ann suggested that the website would benefit from updates previously available on other media. The news page on the website has been revamped to include details of all the previous surgical visits to other countries as well as facsimiles of the twitter posts.
-
9 We currently pay £18 each month to JustGiving.com. This should have been cancelled last year, but has not.
Future Plans
When the COVID pandemic restrictions allow, we can restart our visits to Turkey and to Tanzania. However, the situtations in these countries may not be the same as prior to the pandemic. The private hospitals in Turkey, where we have previously been hosted have been financially ruined and it remains to be seen which ones remain and where there may still be capacity. The project in Tanzania needs to be re-examined as we may not be able to maintain minimal safety requirements.
The recycling of orthotic boots and braces remains a success, and this is due
to the generosity of the British public who have sought out our charity to recycle their boots, knee braces and other medical equipment. The surgical equipment has been sent to Tanzania and Turkey, and the orthotics have been shipped to Tanzania, and more importantly, are being used by patients there.
Our Finances
The financial statement shows that the charity was in credit to the tune of £194.37 at the start of the financial period. The Foundation remained in credit throughout, and ended in credit with £390.61. The total funds in were 7058.87 and the total funds out were 6801.63.
The principal sources of income were individual donations from the general public within the UK, as well as the direct donations from the trustees.
The main costs are now those of supporting the Reyhanli project by paying the otherwise unsalaried Syrian orthopaedic surgeon to continue to look after our patients amongst his other work, and the costs of shipping of orthotics. The previous high cost payment to hospitals for use of their capacity has not occurred due to the complete curtailment of surgical activity.
The hospital in Tanzania has no associated costs apart from travel and accommodation for Orthocycle surgical teams.
Reserves and Financial Health
The Trustees reviewed the finances, budgets and spend against budget.
The Trustees consider that the charity financial status is satisfactory. There remains stable cash flow from the general public and the Trustees. The costs may increase again if the COVID pandemic becomes less of a factor on activity.
Structure, Governance and Management
The charity trustees are responsible for the overall management and control of the Orthocycle Foundation Charity.
All trustees give of their time freely and no remuneration or expenses were paid in the year. No person connected with a Trustee received any benefit.
Accounts of the Orthocycle Foundation 2019-2020
Initial Balance £194.37
| Payments In | £7058.87 |
|---|---|
| Payments Out | £6801.63 |
| Remaining Balance | £390.61 |
IN
| OUT | ||
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 18 | |
| 25 | 527 | |
| 500 | 777 | |
| 10 | 777 | |
| 20 | 18 | |
| 25 | 18 | |
| 1000 | 750 | |
| 2448.55 | 427 | |
| 10 | 456.59 | |
| 20 | 357 | |
| 25 | 95.59 | |
| 10 | 72.86 | |
| 20 | 18 | |
| 5 | 647 | |
| 25 | 527 | |
| 5 | 18 | |
| 5 | 39.59 | |
| 10 | 18 | |
| 20 | 18 | |
| 5 | 777 | |
| 25 | 409 | |
| 5 | 18 | |
| 211.02 | 18 | |
| 5 | ||
| 330 | 6801.63 | |
| 5 | ||
| 10 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 20 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 25 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 500 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 10 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 50 | ||
| 20 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 25 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 10 | ||
| 10 | ||
| 20 | ||
| 25 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 10 | ||
| 10 | ||
| 10 | ||
| 20 | ||
| 25 | ||
| 10 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 10 | ||
| 20 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 750 | ||
| 454.3 | ||
| 25 | ||
| 10 | ||
| 20 | ||
| 25 | ||
| 10 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 20 | ||
| 25 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 10 | ||
| 20 | ||
| 7058.87 |