Clinical Negligence Update – New Professional Guidance for Arthroplasty

Arthroplasty is a routine operation that involves replacing a damaged, worn or diseased knee/hip with an artificial joint. Adults of any age can be considered for a knee/hip replacement, although most are carried out on people between the ages of 60 and 80. More people are now receiving this operation at a younger age.

With the cost of Clinical Negligence now representing over 2% of the NHS annual budget new guidance has been produced in association with the British Hip Society, British Association for surgery of the knee and the British Orthopaedic Association. The guidance is concise and practical and illustrates a standard of practice that should be followed for surgical documentation in modern hip and knee arthroplasty in the UK.

The programme is designed to improve healthcare practice, techniques and procedures for the benefit of patients.

A series of hip and knee cases, which include claims to NHS were reviewed and common themes concerning technique and documentation were collated and highlighted in the documents. It encourages that various components of the arthroplasty should be clearly documented to provide evidence of safe clinical practice, in addition to providing important information should a review or revision of the replacement ever be required.

The full guidance can be found here.

If you have suffered as a result of poor medical care, contact our No Win, No Fee medical negligence solicitors for a free consultation on 01202 525333 or email us here. We have experienced specialist lawyers on the Law Society’s Personal Injury Accreditation Scheme and Members of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).