Borough residents who are over 50 years old and have suffered a fracture will now be offered extra support, advice and assistance from St Helier Hospital to help protect them from any similar injuries in the future.
The new Fracture Liaison Service at St Helier is led by two senior nurses who work closely with our doctors and nurses in the Fracture Unit and staff out on the wards to identify patients who have suffered a fracture and who might benefit from further help. The team will offer assessment, investigations and treatment to help reduce their risk of further falls and fracture.
Prevention is particularly important for larger fractures, such as a broken hip, as recovery for older people can often be a long process and some may never regain their independence. Carole Sherriffs, one of the nurses running the service, said: “Sadly, the statistics show that one in two women and one in five men will break a bone after the age of 50. This can be a life changing event, which can lead to loss of mobility and independence, social isolation, and depression. Our aim is to stop a further fracture before it happens, by offering our patients all the advice and support they need. More than 50% of our patients in the Hip Fracture Unit have broken a bone before their hip fracture, and if you have suffered a fracture previously, you are two thirds more likely to have another one. Our service will systematically identify, treat and refer all patients over 50 who have suffered a fracture.”
Launching the new service is not only great for patients, it is also a more efficient way of working. Nurse Jisha Bhose said: “Every year, hip fractures account for 85,000 unplanned hospital admissions nationwide, meaning that people need to stay in hospital for a total of 1.8 million days (known as bed days in the NHS), which translates into a cost of £1.9 billion. By providing this service, we are helping to curtail the prevalence of fractures, and are therefore helping to reduce the cost to our health service. If a service like ours were to be adopted as a nationwide strategy, the Royal College of Physicians predict that 21,848 fractures could be prevented over five years, saving the NHS roughly £151 million. Fracture liaison clinics such as these are the most effective way to target interventions, reducing risk by up to 50%.
“We are one of a small number of fracture liaison clinics across the country. It is our hope that by showing the success of our service, along with that of existing services, fracture clinics will become a nationwide initiative. A nationwide fracture clinic service would be a great way of helping to prevent unnecessary and painful fractures for vulnerable people, reduce the amount of surgical procedures and hospital stays required, and also save money for the NHS.”
