Early mobilization post surgery is resource intensive. Early mobilization is challenging and uncomfortable for the patient and requires the assistance of one or sometimes two, physiotherapists available seven days per week. Benefits must be rigorously evaluated to justify recommendation. We undertook a randomized controlled trial of the effect of two different ‘time to first ambulation’ intervals after hip fracture surgery on patient and hospital outcomes.Our hypothesis was that early mobilisation would accelerate functional recovery after hip fracture surgery.