Nuffield Health awarded for commitment to patient safety by The National Joint Registry

The NJR monitors the performance of hip, knee, ankle, elbow and shoulder joint replacement operations to improve clinical outcomes primarily for the benefit of patients, but also to support orthopaedic clinicians and industry manufacturers. The registry collects high quality orthopaedic data in order to provide evidence to support patient safety, standards in quality of care, and overall cost-effectiveness in joint replacement surgery. The ‘NJR Quality Data Provider’ certificate scheme was introduced to offer hospitals a blueprint for reaching high quality standards relating to patient safety and to reward those who have met registry targets. 

To achieve the award, we were required to meet a series of six ambitious targets during the audit period 2019/20. Targets included, compliance with the NJR’s mandatory national audit, aimed at assessing data completeness and quality within the registry, having a high level of patients consenting for their details to be included in the registry, and demonstrating timely responses to any alerts issued by the NJR in relation to patient safety concerns, if necessary.

To meet these targets, we made improvements to our previous auditing process, such as handing the audit centrally to avoid delays and increased central support through the implementation of a ‘gatekeeper’ who acted as a contact for NJR allowing queries, errors and issues to be resolved more quickly. Continued commitment from the Medical Director, local Senior Management Teams and all hospital staff to drive quality and safety, helped secure this award across all hospital sites in England and Wales. 

The NJR Data Quality Audit investigates the accurate number of joint replacement procedures submitted to the registry compared to the number carried out and recorded in the local hospital Patient Administration System. The audit ensures that the NJR is collecting and reporting upon the most complete, accurate data possible across all hospitals performing joint replacement operations, including the 30 Nuffield Health hospitals in England and Wales.

“People who choose to have their joint care with a Nuffield Health hospital benefit from an experienced and expert clinical team, as recognised by the National Joint Registry, but also receive connected physiotherapy and specialist rehabilitation care.  

“Achieving the National Joint Registry targets enables Nuffield Health to contribute to improving clinical outcomes and patient safety in orthopaedic surgery that aligns with our purpose of building a healthier nation.”.”

National Joint Registry Medical Director, Mr Tim Wilton, said: 

“Congratulations to colleagues at Nuffield Health. 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. 

Registry data now provides an important source of evidence for regulators, such as the Care Quality Commission, to inform their judgements about services, as well as being a fundamental driver to inform improved quality of care for patients.” 

Full details about the NJR’s Quality Data Provider certificate scheme can be found online at: https://www.njrcentre.org.uk. 

Last updated Monday 15 August 2022

First published on Thursday 17 March 2022