Big drop in cancellations

Column by Becky Shaw, General manager for trauma and Orthopaedics, ULHT

Over the last three months Grantham and District Hospital has been running a pilot, with a vision to transform orthopaedic surgery across the county.

The aim is to improve the experience for patients by all United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT) sites working together, with each one focusing on different elements of care.

The pilot continues to progress and during October the ULHT orthopaedics team carried out 218 inpatient elective operations, out of which 137 were major joint replacements (this is 31 more than we
delivered in October 2017). We also delivered 262 day cases. This is a significant improvement for ULHT and for Grantham specifically.

We know that historically bed pressures have been a challenge and that many orthopaedic operations have been cancelled as a result. This hampers our ability to provide good quality service and leads to poor patient experience. However, we’re delighted and proud to report that the number of orthopaedic cancellations due to bed pressures have been reduced by 98.7% since the beginning of the trial – a phenomenal improvement.

Since the start of the trial, patient feedback has been extremely encouraging and this is reassuring that we are getting it right first time more often than not.

One patient said: “I’m very happy with the treatment that I received and the staff have been very good during my stay. It was my first time at this hospital but I would be happy to come again if necessary.”

Another said: “All of the staff have been so kind and gentle and they deserve all the praise from me. I hope when I come in for my other hip they are all still here. Keep up the good work.”

As we continue with the trial into next year, we look forward sharing the success of the pilot. This will substantiate and support our vision to make Grantham and District Hospital an Orthopaedic Centre of Excellence.