A new report has found that infections following hip and knee replacements undertaken in hospitals in New Zealand have fallen, meaning reduced harm to patients. The findings are in an independent evaluation of the Health Quality & Safety Commission’s surgical site infection (SSI) improvement programme. It found the fall in infection rates was likely to be the result of district health boards (DHBs) implementing a ‘bundle’ of interventions recommended by the programme. This final report assessed data for orthopaedic procedures for the period from 2013Q3 to 2017Q3; and cardiac procedures for the period from 2016Q3 to 2017Q2.
Read more:
- Evaluation of the surgical site infection improvement programme. Report prepared for the Health Quality & Safety Commission. 28 August 2018 (1.4 MB, pdf)