Surgical Site Surveillance

Surgical site infection (SSI) is recognised as being one of the highest complications of surgery and SSI accounts for approximately 14.5% of all Hospital acquired infections and are estimated to double the post-operative stay in hospital.

The majority of SSIs are preventable and measures can be taken in the pre-, intra- and post-operative phases of care to reduce the risk of infection.

Standardised definitions and monitoring systems enable the Surgical Site Infection Surveillance Service (SSISS) national centre to provide high quality comparative data based on a standardised approach to data collection, analysis and interpretation. This enables participating hospitals to have high quality comparable data.

The mandatory requirement for orthopaedic surgery is surgical site surveillance in at least one of the four orthopaedic categories for at least one quarter; RJAH is proud to have the resources to perform continuous surveillance in hip and knee replacements.

Aims

• To enhance the quality of patient care by encouraging hospitals to collect data on specific groups of surgical procedures.
• Compare rates of SSI over time and use this information to review and guide clinical practice.
• Enable participating hospitals to compare their rates of SSI in a specific group of surgical procedures against a benchmark.

For more information and to view the Trust's performance visit the Public Health England's SSISS Website .