Death rates following operations to fix broken hips at a Sussex hospital trust are among the lowest in the country.

Information published in the National Hip Fracture Database Report has shown Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust has a mortality rate of 5.6%, significantly lower than the national average of 8.2%.

Nationally hip fractures are the most common cause of injury related death, which is largely due to the high proportion of hip fracture patients being elderly and frail with pre-existing medical problems.

Patients who come to the trust with a fractured hip undergo surgery at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton and have their rehabilitation after the operation at the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath.

Consultant in elderly medicine, Henry Alexander, said: “This outstanding achievement has only been made possible by the dedication not only of my medical and nursing colleagues but of all the staff involved in hip fracture care.

“We are absolutely delighted by this result; it is evidence that our multi-disciplinary approach to providing good quality care really does save lives.”

Mortality rates for hip fracture patients at the trust have consistently declined over the last few years following the introduction of a number of improvements.

These have included the introduction of daily patient assessments in the surgical ward , improvements in the way the patients are given anaesthesia, more effective planning for when the patient goes home and better team working between different specialists.

The report, produced by the British Orthopaedic Association, the British Geriatrics Society and the Royal College of Physicians, looked at more than 60,000 patients from 180 hospitals across the country.