New figures reveal Stepping Hill Hospital is one of the safest and best places in England and Wales for hip and knee replacement surgery.

The hospital carries out around 800 hip and knee replacement operations every year, most often for patients who have arthritis. More hip and knee operations are carried out at the hospital than any other one surgical procedure.

The National Joint Registry (NJR) supplies figures for how frequently these artificial joints wear out and need replacing again, along with mortality rates. The latest figures show Stepping Hill Hospital as much better than average for knee replacement, with just 1.62% replaced again within ten years, compared to 3.59% nationally.

Hip replacements are also better than the England and Wales average, with 3.84% replaced again within ten years, compared to 5.16% nationally. Stepping Hill’s mortality figures are also better than average for both hip and knee replacement, with rates for knee replacement being around half the national figure.

One recent satisfied patient is Richard Rowland, 84, from Bramhall. Richard lives with his wife Jean and has always had a fit and active life, until May last year when he started to suffer very severe knee pains. After being examined at the hospital, a full knee replacement operation was prescribed, and Richard had the surgery just four weeks after diagnosis.

Within four weeks he was up and about, and now enjoys swimming and going to the gym. “The whole experience of being in hospital was a pleasure, it was like a five star hotel” said Richard. “I couldn’t believe how soon I recovered afterwards, and how soon I was back to my normal life. I have nothing but praise for the whole surgical team.”

David Johnson, consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Stepping Hill Hospital says “Hip and knee replacements can be truly life enhancing operations for patients like Richard, reducing their pain and allowing them to be more active. It’s a pleasure to be able improve so many people’s lives in this way. It’s good to see the new figures from the NJR confirm our strong performance in joint surgery, which I hope will be a strong reassurance for anyone who requires this kind of operation from our team.”