Joint replacement surgery at Stepping Hill Hospital has received confirmation in its commitment to patient safety in joint replacement surgery by receiving a top national rating.

Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, has been named as a ‘gold standard’ National Joint Registry (NJR) Quality Data Provider after passing a series of local data audits.

Only trusts which are 100% compliant receive the gold standard, and Stepping Hill Hospital was one of only four in Greater Manchester to receive the rating.

The NJR monitors the performance of hip, knee, ankle, elbow and shoulder joint replacement operations to improve clinical outcomes.

The registry collects high quality orthopaedic data to provide evidence supporting 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.

Stepping Hill Hospital took part in development of the NJR Data Quality Audit when it was first piloted in 2014 and has been confirmed as a Quality Data Provider in each year since then. Data is now entered more quickly than ever before, making the successful competition of audits more challenging.

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 Stepping Hill Hospital.

NJR targets also include having a high level of patients consenting for their details to be included in the registry and for hospitals to demonstrate timely responses to any alerts issued by the NJR in relation to potential patient safety concerns.

David Johnson, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon and Data Quality Lead at Stepping Hill Hospital said “High safety standards in surgery are of paramount importance to us, and so we’re very pleased to receive the NJR gold mark of quality confirming our success with this, which was a real team effort. We’re proud to help the NJR  accurately inform clinical practice for the future, and help to ensure surgical confidence for the public.”