Back to accessibility links
Standard 1: Orthogeriatric clinical management of each patient
Standard 2: Optimal pain management
Standard 4: Surgery is not cancelled
Standard 6: Refracture prevention
Minimum Standards for the Management of Hip Fractures: The Standards
Standard 1: Orthogeriatric clinical management of each patient
- Orthogeriatric clinical management is a collaborative approach to care provided by orthopaedic and geriatric services for the care of older patients with orthopaedic disorders
- All older hip-fracture patients should be managed in a collaborative model of care by an orthopaedic surgeon and geriatrician from the time of admission.
Standard 2: Optimal pain management
- Effective pain management is a primary goal for patients with a hip fracture
- Providing a combination of two or more analgesic medications with differing mechanisms is considered best practice in older frail patients who may not tolerate opioids.

Standard 3: Surgery within 48 hours and in daytime hours (regardless of inter-hospital transfers)
- Patients should be optimised for and undergo surgery no more than 48 hours after admission
- Surgery should be conducted within standard daytime working hours, where possible.

Standard 4: Surgery is not cancelled
- Once a planned date has been identified for repair of a hip fracture, surgery should not be cancelled, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Standard 5: Commencement of mobilisation within 24 hours of surgery
- Unless medically or surgically contraindicated, patients should be encouraged and supported to sit out of bed and begin mobilising within 24 hours of surgery.
Standard 6: Refracture prevention
- All hip fracture patients should be assessed for future fracture risk and be offered treatment for osteoporosis if clinically appropriate.
Standard 7: Local ownership of data systems/processes to drive improvements in care
- IT systems and a minimum dataset should be developed to facilitate standardised collection and analysis of data.