Length of hospital stay for hip fracture falls by a day, audit shows

The length of stay in acute wards for patients admitted to hospital with a hip fracture has fallen by an average of one day—to just over 20 days—over the past year, concludes the latest report from the national hip fracture database for England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Channel Islands.1

The 5% reduction in average acute hospital stay (from 21.2 days in 2011 to 20.2 days in 2012) saved around £14m (€17.7m; $22.3) in hospital bed costs, estimate the reports’ authors, from the British Orthopaedic Association and the British Geriatrics Society.

The audit, now in its fourth year, reviewed the care and outcomes of 59 365 patients with hip fracture admitted to 180 hospitals between 1 April 2011 and 31 March 2012. …