Fewer hip operation patients needing nursing home or convalescent care

Some 84% of fractured hips last year followed falls in or near the home, with auditors urging older people to make sure houses are safe and to keep active. File picture: Larry Cummins

Better communication between hospitals and community care has resulted in more older people returning directly home after hip operations than before the pandemic.

The Irish Hip Fracture Database report, for 2017 to 2021, measures care for patients over 60 who suffered hip fractures. Some 30% of these patients returned home without needing nursing home or convalescent care last year, a jump of 8% since 2017.

The auditors also found fewer people needed rehabilitation in 2021 at 28% compared to 33% and people admitted for the first time to a nursing home after a hip fracture dropped to 4% from 6% in 2017.

The report says it is not clear whether the pandemic directly contributed to these changes. It adds: “But feedback from the hospital sites indicates that, since the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020, communication with community intervention teams has improved dramatically and seems to have been sustained into 2021.” 

Some 84% of fractured hips last year followed falls in or near the home, with auditors urging older people to make sure houses are safe and to keep active.

Among 3,806 cases last year, 68% were female and 32% male with a mean age of 80.4, the National Office of Clinical Audit (NOCA) found.

Cork University Hospital has the highest number of cases annually at over 400. NOCA recorded a “very noticeable improvement” for patients at CUH over five years against some targets. They noted appointments of a consultant orthogeriatrician and trauma coordinator clinical nurse specialist.

University Hospital Kerry has seen a “gradual improvement” and “steady improvement” at University Hospital Limerick against some targets.