Early hip fracture surgery will save hundreds of lives

November 3, 2022

Research at Southmead Hospital has revealed that patients who have delayed hip replacement surgery have a higher death rate.

The report found that patients who had operations between 24 and 36 hours after admission for replacement were 8% more likely to die than those operated on within 24 hours.

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence currently recommends treatment up to 48 hrs after admission and this new study (which is based on old data) may mean that this recommendation needs to be reviewed.

Christian Beadell, Senior Solicitor in the Clinical Negligence team commented “This study is useful in supporting patients requests for early treatment and will impress upon Hospitals the need to avoid delaying or cancelling operations other than when unavoidable. Of the cases that we see within our team, often the question of delays following admission for treatment is not the primary concern, but the lengthy wait before an appointment is given for the operation to take place which is some circumstances can be several months. The increasingly elderly population will only serve to put greater pressure on these timescales and it is important that hospitals are adequately resourced to ensure these healthcare standards are met.”