For the third year in a row, St Helier Hospital was once again shown to have exceeded many national averages in the annual National Hip Fracture Database report, which measures 182 hospitals across the country against a number of key clinical standards and best practices.
The hip fracture unit takes care of older patients who have come through the A&E departments of both Epsom and St Helier Hospitals. Dr Nivi Singh, consultant orthogeriatrician at the hospital, is a senior member of the medical team which looks after patients. She said:
"These ratings are testament to the dedication of each person working in the unit. I am absolutely delighted with the results of the new report; this achievement is incredible news for our staff, and more importantly, our patients.
"We run a dedicated hip fracture unit within our hospital, which houses a network of experts who are all key to the treatment and recovery process. This teamwork – from early assessment by senior clinical specialist, to the dedicated therapy team (our new 7-day physiotherapy service) on the unit – has helped to significantly contribute to more patients going directly home from hospital, rather than to a care home.”
The report also shows the hospital as having a high rate of patients who had a fall at home, returning to their own house, rather than a care home (59.5%), highlighting particular success in providing quality care, rehabilitation and discharge planning. Some other encouraging positive results include:
• 88.2% of patients had surgery on the day of or day after admission, compared to a national average of 71.7%
• 98.1% of patients had a senior geriatric review within 72 hours of admission, compared to a national average of 81.6%• For the Department of Health’s Best practice tariff for hip fractures (a measurement that takes into account seven national standards), St Helier ranked as the highest achieving in London, and the third highest achieving hospital in the country.
• Pressure ulcer rates were just 2.6%, which is lower than the national average.
Dr Ruth Charlton, Joint Medical Director at the Trust, said she was delighted with the report: "This is a fantastic result and I would like to thank the hip fracture team, as well as all of the staff from the A&E units at Epsom Hospital and St Helier Hospital for all of their hard work.
“This will also be welcome news for local people too, as it proves, once again, that Epsom and St Helier hospitals provide patients with some of the best care in the country."
The National Hip Fracture Database is an annual report describing case mix, care and outcomes for 64,838 people who were admitted with a hip fracture between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2013 at the 182 eligible hospitals in the United Kingdom.