Hip fracture woman 'walked on broken hip for two weeks'
Half of all hip fracture patients receive substandard care, putting them at risk of long-term disability, loss of independence, or even death, according to the NHS's advisory body NICE.
Sheila Bex waited for more than a fortnight with a broken hip, after an A&E doctor dismissed her symptoms as groin pain and sent her home with a walking frame.
When she visited her GP 12 days later, she was sent for an X-ray and told she would have surgery immediately, but then had her operation cancelled twice over the next three days before finally being treated.
The National Osteoporosis Society said there were 78,000 hip fractures a year in the UK. It said 10% of those people died within 30 days and 30% within a year.
22 Jun 2011
- From the section Health