Schoen Clinic London awarded certification for patient safety

Schoen Clinic London, the HSMA’s highly specialised spinal and orthopaedic hospital, has been named as a National Joint Registry (NJR) Quality Data Provider after successfully completing a programme of local data audits.

By monitoring the performance of hip, knee, ankle, elbow and shoulder joint replacement operations, the NJR aims to support patient safety, raise standards in quality of care, and improve the cost effectiveness of joint replacement surgery. The NJR Quality Data Provider certificate scheme was introduced to offer hospitals a blueprint for reaching high standards of patient safety. To achieve the award, hospitals are required to meet a series of six ambitious targets during the audit period.  

The audit investigates the number of joint replacement procedures submitted to the registry compared to the number carried out and recorded in the local hospital patient administration system. Other targets include having a high proportion of patients consenting for their details to be included in the registry and demonstrating timely responses to any alerts issued by the NJR relating to potential patient safety concerns.

Schoen Clinic London’s NJR Quality Data Provider certificate

Important source of evidence
Mr Tim Wilton, the NJR’s medical director, said: “The Quality Data Provider Award demonstrates the high standards being met towards ensuring compliance with the NJR and is often a reflection of strong departmental efforts to achieve such status. Registry data now provides an important source of evidence for regulators, such as the Care Quality Commission, to inform their judgements about services, as well as being a fundamental driver to inform improved quality of care for patients.”

Dr Tim Wigmore, medical director at Schoen Clinic London, added: “Improving patient safety is of the upmost importance and something all staff take very seriously at the Schoen Clinic. We fully support the National Joint Registry’s work in facilitating improvement in clinical outcomes and governance for the benefit of joint replacement patients.”