Calls to improve hip fracture care
By Kate Morley - 02/09/2010
The 2010 National Report by the National Hip Fracture Database has shown that, alarmingly, as many as one in five elderly people with broken hips do not get surgery quickly enough.
With nearly every case of hip fracture needing surgery, patients are meant to be operated on within 48 hours, but the annual audit in England, Wales and Northern Ireland showed many waited longer – mostly due to Administrative problems and staff shortages rather than medical reasons.
Hip fractures from falls are one of the most common reasons for elderly people to end up in hospital, with around 76,000 cases every year, costing the NHS about £1.4bn to treat - a figure which is doubled when the associated social care costs are taken into account.
In response to the ‘National Hip Fracture Database National Report 2010’, Michelle Mitchell, charity director at Age UK, said: “Falls represent the most frequent and serious type of accident in the over 65s. So it’s very worrying that following a hip fracture, nearly one third of people aren’t being given the appropriate medication, care and support to reduce the risk of falling and injuring themselves again.
“While improvements have been made in the care of hip fractures, the report reveals 37 per cent of people still aren’t receiving a ‘falls assessment’, which leads on to support such as special exercise classes and home adaptations. A quarter of people are being discharged from hospital without having been assessed for bone protection medication.
“People who have suffered a fall are at the highest risk of falling again, so it is absolutely essential this group gets access to high quality falls prevention and appropriate care wherever they live.
“Falls in general cost the NHS an estimated £4.6 million a day, as well as causing people pain, disability, loss of independence and even death. Reducing falls and improving the care and support we give people following a fall must be a priority for our health service”.
For more information on how to prevent falls, visit the NHS website linked below.