From the members: ANZHFR

The increasing global burden of hip fractures is wellknown to readers of this Newsletter. The Asia-Pacific region will constitute half of the world’s hip fractures by mid-century. Data is a powerful tool to allow hospital systems to optimise the provision of care to this fragile patient group but collecting data and implementing real change are disparate tasks. The ANZHFR “Hip Festivals” are an initiative of the Registry to harness the collective knowledge of key stakeholders and to inspire and enable those involved in the provision of care. The first two “Hip Festivals” were held in Australia in the last quarter of 2018. Other states and New Zealand will have opportunities to attend in 2019. Both Festivals commenced with the Registry Co-Chairs enlightening attendees on the long road travelled in the development of the ANZHFR. In Western Australia, more than 60 attendees gathered at Fiona Stanley Hospital on the 23rd October to share experiences and innovative solutions to improve care in their local context. Presentations from The Royal Flying Doctor Service and clinicians from both regional and city-based services highlighted the challenges, and the many possible solutions, to improve hip fracture care in WA. Mr John Miller reminded all present of the importance of high quality care to the person who has broken their hip. In NSW, the second “Hip Festival” was held in partnership with the NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI) in Sydney on the 4th of December. This event welcomed over 170 attendees from NSW Local Health Districts, interstate health services, NSW Ambulance and the private health sector, in addition to several community members. Specialist talks focused on shared models of care, pre-operative regional anesthesia, the role of fracture liaison services, rehabilitation and how the ANZ-HFR can be a driver for change in centres that have identified opportunities to improve their care. Prof Ian Harris led an excellent Q&A session using an innovative system where questions were logged online, voted on, and the most popular questions put to the multidisciplinary panel. After the morning sessions, ACI’s Lea Kirkwood, Director of Innovation and Redesign, facilitated a workshop where areas of hip fracture care needing optimisation were identified. After formulating goals and plans, members from different health districts joined forces to share experiences and innovate solutions to improve care in their local context. These sessions were excellent. Hospitals trying to increase compliance with Hip Fracture Care Guidelines and the ACSQHC Clinical Care Standard found the workshopping invaluable. The breadth of experience within one room and the ability to network has already led to “post-festival” conversations. The variety of problems facing each service showed that no one solution fits all. Empowering each service with tools to innovate, and demonstrating how data can help audit care provision, is a leap towards improving care. Without question, the inaugural east and west coast “Hip Festivals” were a success. We would encourage all health care providers to attend future events.