Scottish Hip Fracture Audit
Reporting on 2022

About this release

This publication was revised on 16 August 2023 due to an incorrect main point being included in error within the publication summary and dashboard. Please note, no data or other narrative has been changed.

This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) provides information from the Scottish Hip Fracture Audit (SHFA) on patients with a hip fracture from January 2022 to December 2022.

Main points

• Incidence continued to increase: An additional 584 patients sustained a hip fracture in 2022 (8,380 cases), compared to 2021 (7,796 cases).
• Patients spent longer in the emergency department (ED) in 2022. Six out of every 10 were admitted to hospital within 4 hours of arrival, down from 8 in 10 in 2021.
• The proportion of patients who were admitted to hospital within the 4-hour target fell significantly to 34.9% in 2022 from 61.2% in 2021.
• The downward trend in completion of inpatient assessments continued and fell to 49.3% in 2022 from 56.5% in 2021.
• Commencement of a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) within 3 days of admission fell to 84.9% in 2022 from 88% in 2021.
• Acute and total length of hospital stay rose by one day in 2022 compared to the previous year. The acute stay was 11 days and total length of stay was 18 days.

This bar chart shows a percentage of patients meeting the scottish hip fracture audit standards each year from 2017-2023. The main messages are summarised in the key bullet points above.

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SHFA standards 2022

Background

People who suffer from a hip fracture are usually frail and elderly and at risk of complications from surgery and/or the injury. This can be associated with increased length of stay in hospital, admission to care homes, and mortality.

The Scottish Hip Fracture Audit reports on compliance with the Scottish Standards of Care for People with Hip Fractures. The results support the collaborative work between the Scottish Government, PHS and Health Boards to continually drive improvements in care for this group of people.

Data are collected by Local Audit Co-ordinators based in each hospital and submitted to PHS for analysis and report production.

Further information

The next release of this publication will be August 2024.