Tauranga orthopaedic surgeon Richard Keddell is the recipient of a New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year 2024 Honours List.

Richard has contributed to the orthopaedic practice and governance in New Zealand for more than 30 years.

“I started here in Tauranga as a health surgeon in December of 1982," says Richard.

“I came back as an orthopedic surgeon in 1992 and have been in Tauranga since then.

“I finished my orthopaedic training in 1989 and then I went overseas for a few years and then I came back and started at Tauranga Hospital in 1992.”

He says he mainly does hip and knee replacements and ligament reconstructions in the public hospital.

“It’s a wonderful sort of surgery because we’re fixing people who have either broken bones or damaged bones or worn-out bones.

“You can do a lot of good for people who are in a lot of pain and make them better.

“It’s very rewarding.”

Richard comes from a farming background in Central Otago.

Since he has moved to Tauranga, he has helped a lot of people.

“I’m dealing with people in the community all the time.”

Richard’s landmark publication on the management of tibial fractures in 1991 influenced the standard care of these fractures world-wide.

Richard was the clinical director of Orthopaedics for the Bay of Plenty District Health Board from 2005 to 2015 and President of the New Zealand Knee Society from 2007 to 2008.

Richard was a member of the New Zealand Orthopaedic Association from 2014 to 2018 and served as the National President of NZOA from 2016 to 2017.

From 2017 to 2022 he was the Specialty Orthopaedic Training Board Chair.

He has increased the diversity of surgeons practicing orthopaedics, with more female and Māori trainees being accepted into the training programme.

He played a key role in the appointment of a Pou Tikanga/Cultural Advisor to the NZOA.

He became the inaugural and only honorary member of the Ladies in Orthopaedics New Zealand in 2017 in recognition of his mentorship, advocacy and fiscal support for female orthopaedic surgeons.

Richard has been the Chair and a Trustee of the Wishbone Orthopaedic Research Foundation Trust since 1997.

Richard says he feels very honoured to be presented with a New Zealand Order of Merit.

“I was surprised because there’s plenty of other surgeons and doctors who do what I do who are deserving as well.

“it’s pretty special to receive this honour."