University Hospital of Hartlepool offers 'in a day' hip replacements

The University Hospital of Hartlepool has become the first centre in the Tees Valley to perform a day-case hip replacement procedure.

The first of four pilot day case hip replacement surgeries took place in August – with the patient attending hospital, receiving a hip replacement and being discharged home the very same day.

Consultant orthopaedic surgeon Manju Ramappa was the lead on bringing the procedure to the hospital, which is part of North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust.

He said: “Patients would rather be in hospital for as little time as required, so that they can spend the night at home with their family and in a familiar environment.

"There are many benefits to performing the surgery this way. It speeds up recovery times, reduces the risk of hospital acquired infection and also reduces the risk of blood clots as patients tend to be more mobile at home.

“At the same time we ensure there is no compromise in the quality of patient care. If at any point we feel they are not safe for discharge, we will keep them in the hospital overnight.”

He added: “Not all patients will be suitable for the day-case hip replacement procedure. They are all assessed and, if deemed fit, it is up to the patient to decide if they want the hip replacement as a day-case or not.

“Our homeward team ensure patients have full support both before and after surgery at home. They will also ring them 24 hours after surgery to check on them. Patients are also given a 24/7 helpline number answered by one of our arthroplasty ward nurses.”

The first patient to have the operation was Raymond Robinson, 66, from Eaglescliffe.

He said: “I feel things have gone really well and my pain levels are have been fine. I’ve already been sitting up and walking with the help of the team physiotherapist.

“I previously had a knee replacement in 2017 and getting to recover from the comfort of home rather than in a hospital bed was a huge bonus.”