NJR launches patient guide to joint replacement and annual report

6 January 2011

The NJR has launched its first Public and Patient Guide to its Annual Report, combining a summary of the 2011 report and a wealth of advice, contacts and other support for joint replacement patients, their carers and other interested lay people and groups.

The aim of the guide is to make the data produced by the NJR more accessible and relevant to patients to help them make informed choices about their healthcare, and its launch will be followed by the first-ever NJR Patient Conference, in London on 23 March.

Click here to read the Public and Patient Guide 2011 >

The guide is divided into three sections:

• Part One looks at the NJR and answers FAQs in relation to joint replacement. It contains a glossary to help decipher medical and surgical jargon and has the names and contact details of organisations and charities that can offer information and advice.
• Part Two contains a summary of the replacement procedures that took place in 2010 and offers some explanatory information about the different types of prostheses (implants).
• Part Three examines the performance of particular types of artificial joint (known as implant survivorship) at seven years of data held by the NJR.

"We are absolutely delighted to publish our first Public and Patient Guide to the NJR Annual Report 2011," said NJR Steering Committee Member and patient representative Mary Cowern. "As one of the first registries to produce a guide of this type, we hope it will encourage others to translate the wealth of clinical data they have into a user friendly, digestible format for patients.

"Our main report contains more than 150 pages of surgical data and trends so this guide had to break down the content to include only the most relevant information for patients, to increase their knowledge and help them take decisions about their own care. It has also been designed to be a dip in and out of document, with general FAQs and reference information relating to joint replacement surgery. Joint replacement procedures are complex and there are many variables. This guide is just one of the tools the NJR is developing to aid patient discussions with their healthcare teams," Cowern concluded.

• The NJR is holding a Patient Conference on Friday 23 March 2012 (London) to follow this guide, to talk to patients directly about their views, how guidance can be improved and how they might be involved in shaping future NJR projects. Any patients or patient representatives interested in attending should contact communications@hqip.org.uk or call Rebecca Beaumont on 020 7469 2546.