Hip fracture care at a Suffolk hospital has been rated best in the country.

West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (WSFT) achieved 94.3% against the best practice criteria set by the National Hip Fracture Database (NHFD) in 2017 – significantly better than the national average of 57.1%.

Hip fractures are usually caused by a fall and are one of the most common serious injuries for older people.

At WSFT, an integrated staff team, including doctors, nurses, elderly medicine experts, and practitioners in trauma, orthopaedic and rehabilitation care, ensure the patient is identified as soon as they attend A&E. Swift action is then taken to deliver emergency treatment, and to address on-going rehabilitation needs.

The trust, which is rated ‘outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), has come out on top in the NHFD for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Records show:

• 94.5% of patients had surgery on the day of, or the day after, admission;

• 100% of patients received a mental test score on admission;

• 99.5% of patients received a physiotherapy assessment by the day after surgery.

Additionally, despite the trust caring for the highest number of patients since the database began in 2011, staff kept overall average length of stay in December 2017 at the lowest on record at 16.1 days.

Dr Mohanraj Suresh, lead geriatrician, said: “Our elderly patients are sometimes very frail when they come to us, so rapid decisions about care and action are paramount to help them to regain mobility and a good quality of independent life.

“Providing holistic and continuous medical care for hip fracture patients has significantly improved mortality, length of stay and patient experiences.”

Andrew Dunn, orthopaedic consultant, said the success was down to the trust’s “organised multidisciplinary team approach”.

Medical director, Dr Nick Jenkins, added: “I am incredibly proud of our team for working at such a high standard to deliver safe, quality care for patients who come to us with hip fractures.

“After the trust received an outstanding rating from the CQC recently, it is good to see another example of the outstanding care our clinicians are providing to our community. ”