Gold award for commitment to joint replacement surgery

We have been awarded ‘Gold’ status as a National Joint Registry (NJR) Quality Data Provider, under a scheme recognising the successful completion of local data audits in relation to patient safety.

The NJR collects information on all hip, knee, ankle, elbow, and shoulder replacement operations, to monitor the performance of joint replacement implants and the effectiveness of different types of surgery, improving clinical standards to benefit patients.

The ‘NJR Quality Data Provider’ award scheme offers hospitals a blueprint for reaching patient safety standards and rewards those who have met the targets for achieving gold, silver or bronze status.

In order to achieve ‘Gold’, we had to achieve a 99 to 100 per cent compliance rate for the number of joint replacement procedures submitted to the registry matching the number carried out and recorded on our Patient Administration System (PAS).

This award therefore acknowledges both the high standards being met by Medway Maritime Hospital and the strong departmental effort to achieve compliance with the registry for four consecutive years.

Jayne Black, Chief Executive, said: “Improving patient safety is of the upmost importance and something all staff take very seriously. We fully support the National Joint Registry’s work to improve clinical outcomes for patients who have joint replacement operations and we’re delighted to be awarded as a Gold NJR Quality Data Provider.”

Tim Wilton, National Joint Registry Medical Director, said: “Congratulations to colleagues at Medway Maritime Hospital. The Quality Data Provider Award demonstrates the high standards being met towards ensuring compliance with the NJR and is often a reflection of strong departmental efforts to achieve such status.

“As well as being a fundamental driver to inform improved quality of care for patients, registry data provides an important source of evidence for regulators, such as the Care Quality Commission (CQC), to inform their judgements about the quality of health services.”