For the second consecutive year, the West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (WSFT) has been recognised as a leading provider of hip fracture care, topping the National Hip Fracture Database (NHFD) rankings in England and Wales.
Achieving an outstanding 95.4 per cent compliance score with the national best practice tariff - nearly double the national average of 48.8 per cent - WSFT’s hip fracture team continues to set the benchmark for excellence in patient care, innovation, and multidisciplinary team collaboration.
Hip fractures, typically caused by falls and most common among older adults, are among the most serious injuries requiring emergency surgery. The WSFT’s success is rooted in a coordinated, Trust-wide approach that brings together surgeons, trauma practitioners, nurses, rehabilitation specialists, paramedics, administrative staff, and more.
Mr Konrad Wronka, lead consultant for hip fracture at WSFT, said:
These fantastic results reflect the dedication, innovation, and collaboration of our entire team. Hip fracture care is a key focus in Suffolk, where we have an increasingly ageing population and see many frail patients with hip fractures. For these patients, prompt assessment, timely surgery and focused rehabilitation are essential to regaining mobility and quality of life.”
Key to WSFT’s success are several pioneering practices being presented nationally and potentially being adopted by other NHS trusts at the recommendation of the NHFD. These include:
- Nurse-led advanced trauma practitioner role - put in place to coordinate pre-operative preparation, ensuring patients are ready for theatre as early as possible.
- Enhanced nutritional support - a new technique introduced as standard following a trial last year, where patients are encouraged to consume specialised supplements right up to surgery, reducing post-operative confusion and accelerating recovery.
Dr Mohanraj Suresh, consultant in elderly care medicine at WSFT, explained the team’s commitment to continuous improvement: “We don’t shy away from challenging convention if it means better outcomes and experience for patients. Our strength lies in seamless coordination, our willingness to adapt, and our trust in the process and one another. We focus on doing the basics exceptionally well and this all helps drive our success and allows us to keep developing our approach.”
The Trust’s leadership in hip fracture care is also gaining national and international attention. In July 2025, advanced clinical trauma practitioner Helen Boulton spoke at the NHFD global summit, sharing the findings of the Trust’s nutritional support project and reinforcing WSFT’s role as a model of best practice.
“We’re incredibly proud of our NHFD results,” said Helen. “As a small integrated Trust, it’s exciting to see the real-world impact we’re having on our patients in our local communities, and beyond as we share our learning.”
Dr Richard Goodwin, medical director at WSFT, said: “We remain a site of excellence in caring for frail patients sustaining hip fractures due to the relentless focus, commitment, and innovation of our staff. Their work is transforming outcomes for some of our most vulnerable patients, and they should be immensely proud of all they achieve each year.”
The team continues to refine its hip fracture pathway to further enhance patient outcomes and is currently focussing on speeding up the transfer of patients to the trauma ward, avoiding long waits in the emergency department and getting the assessment and treatment process started even earlier.
