Dr Foster Health publishes Hip and Knee Replacement Waiting Times Update

(PRLEAP.COM) Dr Foster Health has published its Hip and Knee Replacement Waiting Times Update which reveals to health consumers the amount of time they can expect to wait for a hip or knee replacement operation on the NHS.

The Hip and Knee Replacement Waiting Times Update can be accessed via the Dr Foster Health home page and also reveals how long a patient undergoing a hip or knee replacement operation can expect to spend recovering in hospital according to their age.

Elective (non-emergency) hip and knee replacement surgeries are performed to relieve pain and lack of mobility caused by disease (osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis, for example) or injury (sports accident).

In hip and knee replacement surgery, the worn or damaged joints are replaced with artificial joints, or prostheses. Once healed, the new joint should offer the patient increased strength, mobility and movement – allowing full participation in everyday events again.

Dr Foster Health’s Hip and Knee Waiting Times Update also reveals the following:

* Waiting times by Strategic Health Authority
* Total number of hip and knee replacements performed by NHS and Independent hospitals
* Revision and mortality rates for hip and knee replacement operations
* New developments in hip and knee prostheses
* Links to Hip and Knee Replacement Information Hubs on Dr Foster Health’s Medical Dictionary.

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About Dr Foster Health
Dr Foster Health is the leading innovator in benchmarking public health services and communicating information about them to the public. We produce authoritative and independent guides to health services in the public and private sectors. Our aim is not only to inform, but also to act as a catalyst for change.

Notes for editors:

1) In 2008, nearly 105,000 hip and knee replacement operations were performed on the NHS, while almost 50,000 of the operations were performed in Independent hospitals.

2) Dr Foster Health waiting times data for hip and knee replacement operations compare the years 2005/6, 2006/7, 2007/8 for the 10 Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) in England.

3) Strategic Health Authorities were formed back in 2002 to manage the local NHS on behalf of the Secretary of State. There are now 10 SHAs whose key role is to act as a link between the Department of Health and the NHS.

4) Revision and mortality rates for hip and knee replacement procedures were taken from the National Joint Registry. The data originated as Health Episode Statistics (HES) and the HES database includes only those procedures funded by the NHS in England and includes NHS patients being treated in Independent hospitals

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