The project

Improving time to surgery for older people who have broken a hip.

The problem

National and International Guidelines and Standards of Care suggest that people who fall and fracture their hip should have an operation to fix the hip within 48 hours of presentation to hospital. However data from the ANZ Hip Fracture Registry suggests that many hospitals across Australia and New Zealand struggle to meet this target. The main reasons for delay to surgery are 1) getting access to theatre time, 2) getting medical clearance to proceed with the operation and 3) difficulties managing people on blood thinning agents in preparation for an operation.

The Study

Four major hospitals in NSW will aim to markedly improve their time to surgery for people who have broken a hip – Prince of Wales Hospital, St George Hospital, The Sutherland Hospital and Liverpool Hospital.

Clinicians and managers will work in partnership to identify delays that occur and develop solutions that ultimately ensure that older people with a hip fracture get high quality evidence based care.

GOAL – By the end of 2020, 85% of people will have their surgery within 48 hours