Professional consensus on UK national statements of best practice for ways of working to deliver orthotic interventions after stroke: an eDelphi study.
Miriam Golding-Day, Shirley Thomas, Phillip Whitehead and 2 others
PMID 41782404WHAT IT FOUND
UK orthotists agreed on 63 best-practice statements for post-stroke care, including that they should be part of the core rehabilitation team and assess patients within 3 months.
These are expert recommendations, not tested interventions, so they do not prove better outcomes.
Key findings
01Sixty-three statements reached the required consensus level of 75% agreement.
02Participants agreed that orthotists should be included as members of the core stroke multidisciplinary rehabilitation team.
03There was no consensus on whether orthotist assessment should happen within the acute phase (7 days) or early sub-acute phase (3 months).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
Only 32 orthotists participated, representing about 5% of the UK registered workforce, so the views may not reflect the profession as a whole. Participants were predominantly NHS employees, which may bias findings against private practice realities. The study establishes expert opinion on what *should* happen, but does not test whether these practices actually improve patient outcomes. Some agreed statements, such as weekly orthotist attendance, were noted by the authors as difficult to implement given current workforce numbers.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. One author received a fellowship grant from the Stroke Association and the National Institute for Health and Care Research, though the research was stated to be independent.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat these statements as evidence that orthotic interventions improve stroke recovery outcomes. This paper reports what orthotists believe is best practice, not the results of a clinical trial testing whether those practices work.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →