Oswestry's Orthopaedic Hospital is 'best in UK for hip and knee ops'
Patients undergoing hip and knee replacements at a county hospital are officially in the best place.
Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital near Oswestry is exceeding the results of other specialist providers in the UK, according to NHS figures.
Data published by NHS digital has shown patients treated at RJAH are achieving better health gains than the four other specialists in this field as well as other local providers.
The report is a major coup for the hospital and comes as North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson said he was planning to nominate it for an award for his treatment following a recent horse fall.
Steve White, medical director at the hospital said: “We benchmark our performance against the other specialist orthopaedic providers in the country to give us an indication of how well we are performing.
"These results are pleasing and show the high quality of care we deliver at RJAH.
“Patients should take a lot of comfort from these scores that they are getting access to some of the best orthopaedic surgeons in the country.
“When offering an operation it is important to balance the probability of benefit and the risk of harms.
“We only offer total hip or knee replacement if the patient’s history, examination and investigations show that the operation is appropriate.
“The data shows this approach is effective in enhancing a patient’s quality of life. We should be proud of that.”
The data has been calculated through a questionnaire that measures the effectiveness of care and health gain as assessed by the patient themselves.
Patients are asked to answer a 12-question survey on activities of daily living which scores them between 0, the worst score, and 48.
They complete the same survey pre operation and six months post-operation, and the difference between the two scores gives the health gain.
Both knee and hip replacement patients at RJAH were at the top among its peers, with the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham scoring second for both.
Mr White added: “We are looking at new ways of using this information to give better feedback to patients and our surgeons in our process of continuous improvement.”
Mr Paterson was taken to RJAH with serious back injuries after a horse fall, forcing him to take an extended break from Westminster.
Now recovering at home, the MP announced on Twitter: “I’m delighted to nominate Midland Centre for Spinal Injuries for a Care & Compassion Award.
"Caring for immobile patients’ every need, they are extremely professional and dedicated to long-term rehabilitation."
