The Orthopaedic Supportive Discharge team, based at St. Peter’s Hospital in Chertsey, has won an Excellence in Patient Care Award from the Royal College of Physicians. The team scooped The Lancet Research Award for their work in supporting patients with fractured neck of femur (hip fractures) to return home sooner after surgery.
Michal Krasuski, OSD Team Leader, said: “We are thrilled to have won this award, which recognises two years of really hard work by the whole team to make this project a success.”
The Orthopaedic Supportive Dishcarge team comprises doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and therapy assistants who work with patients after surgery, both in hospital and after they have returned home. Dr Keefai Yeong, Consultant Geriatrician, explains: “We see around 400 patients with fractured neck of femur (broken hip) a year; they are often elderly and frail and the experience can be a huge knock to their confidence.”
“Recovery after surgery takes time and we know that spending several weeks in hospital can actually lead to ‘deconditioning’ – where patients begin to lose their strength, mobility and confidence, slowing down a return to independence and the ability to go home. By having a dedicated team of professionals who can visit these patients at home and provide all the support they need during the initial recovery period, we can discharge them from hospital much sooner. In 2014, the average length of stay for a patient with a fractured neck of femur was 21.3 days; this has now been reduced to just 14 days. This amounts to a cost saving of £810,136 over 2 years, which is an incredible achievement.
Dr Lisk, Consultant Geriatrician, said: “The best measure of how successful this project has been is patient feedback, which has been excellent - 99% of our patients say they would recommend our service to friends and family. Going forward, we are looking at using this supported discharge approach for other conditions and also to share our learning and best practice with other hosptials.”
The team received their award on 16th March at the Royal College of Physician’s ‘Medicine 2017’ conference ; an annual flagship event providing education and profesional development for Hosptial doctors.
Pictured above: ASPH’s Orthopaedic Supportive Discharge team collecting their award.
