Basildon Hospital has been praised for the way it cares for patients needing hip operations.

An in-depth report, published by the Royal College of Surgeons, has found the hospital’s “shared care” approach to dealing with hip fracture patients, has resulted in fewer patients dying as a result of the operation.

The approach sees different medics going together on ward rounds to help assess patients and put them at ease.

As a result the hospital’s mortality risk ratio has gone from the national average of 8 per cent to just under 5 per cent.

Rob Wakeman, a lead clinician in orthopaedic surgery and a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Basildon Hospital, works with Dr Shilpa Raje, a consultant geriatrician, to assess patients.

He said: “The shared care approach is important, as it allows our patients to get a better all-round health assessment.

“We can spot any potential problems, which might affect recovery, such as chest infections.

“If good medical care and rehabilitation follow prompt surgery, it allows early recovery and the patient can get home quicker.”