Timaru Hospital recognised for improvement to hip fracture care

Timaru Hospital is a finalist in the 2023 Golden Hip Awards.

The Australian and New Zealand Hip Fracture Registry has named the hospital as a finalist in the most improved hospital category, a release from Te Whatu Ora South Canterbury says.

The nominations were announced following the registry’s annual audit of hospitals’ use of the register.

The hip fracture registry collects data about older people admitted to hospital with a broken hip.

Since 2021, the hospital has had a fracture liaison co-ordinator who meets every patient who has fractured a hip in a fall and fills out the register with their details, the release says.

That register records information including what the patient’s mobility was like at the time of the fall, and what their treatment and surgery was.

The co-ordinator has been focused on setting up the processes needed to make sure the register remains up-to-date, the release says.

The Golden Hip Awards were started by the Scottish Hip Fracture Audit in 2018 to promote and reward better care for hip fractures.

The winners of the awards will be announced at an event in Auckland on September 18.