Report reveals patient welfare under NHS surgery

The NHS Information Centre has reported on the level of care patients receive in NHS hospitals in England, both before and after a surgical procedure.

The report, Provisional Monthly Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) in England – April 2009 to April 2010; Pre and post operative data: Experimental Statistics, was based on results from questionnaires completed by patients both before and after undergoing one of four procedures: groin hernia surgery, hip replacement surgery, knee replacement surgery, and surgery on varicose veins.

The study is thought to be the first of its kind to conduct such a widespread review of patient-reported health outcomes. It uses five different systems for evaluating patients' reports of their health before and after treatment. The most detailed of these systems – the EQ-5D Index score of general health – assesses the patient’s wellbeing in terms of mobility, self-care, pain and depression.

Based on the EQ-5D Index score of general health, the report shows:

• 87% of patients admitted for hip replacements reported better general health after their procedure compared to before.
• 77% of patients undergoing knee replacements reported better general health after their procedure compared to before.
• 49% of patients undergoing hernia surgery reported better general health after the procedure compared to before.
• 52% of varicose vein surgery reported better general health after the procedure compared to before.

Overall, patients undergoing groin hernia surgery reported a substantially higher level of general health before treatment compared to patients receiving other surgery, for example, hip replacement surgery. It also revealed that patients receiving hip replacement surgery reported the worst level of general health before having surgery.