Annual progress: Introduction

The National Joint Registry (NJR) for England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and (from July 2015) the Isle of Man has collected joint replacement data on:

  • hip and knee surgery since April 2003
  • ankle surgery since April 2010 and 
  • elbow and shoulder surgery since April 2012

Northern Ireland started to submit data in February 2013 and the Isle of Man will start submitting the data from July 2015. 

The NJR still continues to be the largest register of its kind in the world, with 1.88 million procedure records submitted to it as at 31 March 2015. The NJR’s purpose is set out in its strategic plan and is summarised below:

Mission statement

‘The purpose of the National Joint Registry for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland is to collect high quality and relevant data about joint replacement surgery in order to provide an early warning of issues relating to patient safety.  In a continuous drive to improve the quality of outcomes and ensure the quality and cost effectiveness of joint replacement surgery, the NJR will monitor and report on outcomes, and support and enable related research.’

Strategic goals

  1. Monitor in real time the outcomes achieved by brand of prosthesis, hospital and surgeon, and highlight where these fall below an expected performance in order to allow prompt investigation and to support follow-up action
  2. Inform patients, clinicians, providers and commissioners of healthcare, regulators and implant suppliers of the outcomes achieved in joint replacement surgery
  3. Evidence variations in outcome achieved across surgical practice in order to inform best practice
  4. Enhance patient awareness of joint replacement outcomes to better inform patient choice and patients’ quality of experience through engagement with patients and patient organisations
  5. Support evidence-based purchasing of joint replacement implants for healthcare providers to support quality and cost effectiveness
  6. Support suppliers in the routine post-market surveillance of implants and provide information to clinicians, patients, hospital management and the regulatory authorities.