Patients at a higher risk of medical problems before or after knee replacement surgery

What this data shows:

This figure shows the percentage of primary knee replacement patients who were at a higher risk of medical problems before or after surgery treated by this surgeon between 1 April 2003 and 31 March 2018, where surgery is recorded in the name of the selected surgeon. The types of patients a surgeon treats can explain variation in patient outcomes after surgery.

How the data is gathered:

A primary procedure is the first time a total joint replacement is carried out on any individual joint in a patient. This information shows whether this surgeon treated a higher or lower number of patients presenting with a higher risk of medical problems before or after surgery. The information relates to patients undergoing a primary procedure. Patients assessed as having an ASA Grade of three or more prior to surgery are included. The approach to knee joint replacement surgery sometimes needs to be adjusted for this type of patient.

When the data is shown:

You can find out more about this hospital by clicking on the ‘View source information’ link on the previous page or by going directly to www.njrsurgeonhospitalprofile.org.uk. This includes for example, further information on the national averages for knee replacement procedures and the consultant orthopaedic surgeons recorded as carrying out procedures at the hospital.

More information about the data source:

This data represents information entered by each hospital into the NJR. Whilst the NJR takes steps to prevent errors, by validation at the point of data entry, it is possible for data entry errors to occur. The accuracy and validity of the data relies heavily on the diligence of hospitals and surgeons entering all primary and revision operations. It is the responsibility of the hospitals to make sure that all cases are registered (known as ‘compliance’) and are accurate. Participation in the NJR has been mandatory since April 2011 for NHS hospitals and since April 2003 for the independent sector.

Data Source:

National Joint Registry (NJR) database

Data Period:

1 April 2003 to 31 March 2018

Data Supplier:

National Joint Registry for England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Isle of Man

Further Information:

The NJR has collected information about hip and knee joint replacement procedures since April 2003, ankle joint replacements since April 2010 and elbow and shoulder joint replacements since April 2012. Submission to the NJR is mandatory. www.njrsurgeonhospitalprofile.org.uk (for surgeons and hospitals) www.njrcentre.org.uk (for more information about the NJR) www.njrreports.org.uk (for the NJR’s Annual Report information)