COVID-19 Pandemic Led to 160,000 Missed Joint Replacement Surgeries In the UK, Study Shows

The researchers reviewed data from the National Joint Registry (NJR) covering the period from January 2019 to December 2022, which includes all NHS and privately-funded replacement surgeries for hips, knees, shoulders, elbows, and ankles.

The study compared the number of surgeries performed during and after the pandemic (2020 to 2022) with the number that would have been expected if the surgery rates had remained consistent with 2019 levels.

The analysis found that by the end of 2022, the UK had missed nearly 71.6% of its planned joint replacement surgeries for the year, amounting to approximately 158,994 operations.

This shortfall continues to grow, indicating that efforts to address the backlog have not yet commenced. The impact has been more severe on knee, shoulder, and ankle surgeries compared to hip and elbow replacements.

The NHS has been hit harder than the private sector. As of 2022, NHS surgical activity was at just 73.2% of 2019 levels, while the private sector had increased its activity to 126.8% of pre-pandemic levels.

Consequently, the private sector now handles the majority of joint replacements, performing 53% of these procedures in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Michael Whitehouse, who’s a renowned Professor of Trauma and Orthopaedics at Bristol Medical School: THS and senior clinical lead for the study, explained, “To clear the backlog with a 5% increase in capacity over 2019 levels would take until 2040. Even with a 10% increase, it would only be possible to catch up by 2031. This situation is more serious than currently realized and requires urgent action to mitigate the impact of severe joint issues on patients.”

Tim Wilton, Medical Director of the NJR, noted, “The data from the NJR highlights the long-term effects of COVID-19 on orthopedic surgery availability and demand.

There is a clear need to adjust service levels based on this information to reduce patient waiting times. As the data is compared to 2019 figures and considering that the volume of cases was increasing annually before then, the actual backlog might be even larger than indicated.”