Audit, guidelines and standards: clinical governance for hip fracture care in Scotland

To report on experience of national-level audit, guidelines and standards for hip fracture care in Scotland.

Scottish Hip Fracture Audit (from 1993) documents case-mix, process and outcomes of hip fracture care in Scotland. Evidence-based national guidelines on hip fracture care are available (1997, updated 2002). Hip fracture serves as a tracer condition by the health quality assurance authority for its work on older people, which reported in 2004.

Audit data are used locally to document care and support and monitor service developments. Synergy between the guidelines and the audit provides a means of improving care locally and monitoring care nationally. External review by the quality assurance body shows to what extent guideline-based standards relating to A&E care, pre-operative delay, multidisciplinary care and audit participation are met.

Three national-level initiatives on hip fracture care have delivered: Reliable and large-scale comparative information on case-mix, care and outcomes; evidence-based recommendations on care; and nationally accountable standards inspected and reported by the national health quality assurance authority. These developments are linked and synergistic, and enjoy both clinical and managerial support. They provide an evolving framework for clinical governance, with casemix-adjusted outcome assessment for hip fracture care as a next step.