REDUCE COVID study interviews

Access to the data will be made available to researchers for ethically approved research projects, after a six year embargo period, which ends on 31st March 2029. The 2020 Covid-19 pandemic had an unprecedented impact on health service delivery across the National Health Service (NHS). Although hip fracture surgery largely continued, hospitals were compelled to rapidly adapt and reorganise services in order to continue to deliver care. To assist in service planning, NHS England and the British Orthopaedic Organisation issued guidance in March 2020 on the management of hip fracture patients. However, the limited evidence-base suggests that there has been wide variation in how hospitals have reconfigured services and there is currently limited information about the impact of these changes on patient care. The study aimed to identify strategies that hospitals used to adapt and innovate hip fracture care delivery, during the Covid-19 pandemic, along with barriers and facilitators to the reorganisation of services. One-on-one discussions (interviews) were conducted with 16 healthcare professionals involved in delivering hip fracture care at four hospitals in England. Interviews were carried out with healthcare professionals across the care pathway including orthopaedic surgeons, orthogeriatricians, specialist nurses, physiotherapists and service managers. Interviews explored their views and experiences of delivering hip fracture care during the Covid-19 pandemic. Interviews were audio-recorded, written out word for word and analysed by identifying recurring themes and subthemes in the responses. Findings from this study will provide information to develop more robust and resilient services in the future.