We interviewed 33 people about their experiences of two common orthopaedic operations: partial knee replacement surgery and  subacromial decompression shoulder surgery, also known as keyhole shoulder surgery.

17 people talked about their experiences of partial knee replacement surgery and 16 about having keyhole shoulder surgery, from finding out that there was a problem through to recovery. Here we focus only on their views and experiences of information and healthcare. Everyone we interviewed had their operation at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, an NHS hospital in Oxford, and was interviewed 3–12 weeks after surgery.