Spinal surgery: GIRFT Programme National Specialty Report (January 2019)

Summary

Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) is designed to improve the quality of care within the NHS by reducing unwarranted variations. By tackling variations in the way services are delivered across the NHS, and by sharing best practice between trusts, GIRFT identifies changes that will help improve care and patient outcomes, as well as delivering efficiencies such as the reduction of unnecessary procedures and cost savings.

Content

This GIRFT report on spinal surgery focuses on spinal emergency conditions such as spinal cord injury and spinal infection, as well as the management of common conditions such as back pain. It shows that in 2017/18 the NHS carried out 52,523 surgical procedures on the spine.

The report makes 22 recommendations including:

• replacing short-term pain relief injections with long-term rehabilitation programmes.
• ensuring 24-hour access to MRI for patients with suspected cauda equina.
• instigating pricing transparency in the procurement of implants.

Watch a short video summary of the report