Study shows joint replacement surgery backlog in UK due to COVID-19 to take years to recover

Editor's Note

A recent study led by the University of Bristol reveals nearly 9 months of joint replacement surgeries, amounting to approximately 160,000 procedures, have been lost since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, News Medical Life Sciences July 31 reports. Published in The Bone & Joint Journal, the study highlights that returning to pre-pandemic surgical levels will not suffice to address this backlog. Even with a rapid expansion of services, it could take many years or even decades to resolve the overload.

Researchers analyzed data from the National Joint Registry, examining hip, knee, shoulder, elbow, and ankle replacement surgical procedures conducted between January 2019 and December 2022 in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. They compared the volume of surgeries during the pandemic to expected numbers based on 2019 activity. By the end of 2022, the backlog amounted to almost three-quarters of a year of operations, or 71.6% of 2019 activity. Knee, shoulder, and ankle procedures have been more severely impacted than hip and elbow procedures.

The NHS has been particularly affected, with its activity at only 73.2% of 2019 levels by 2022. In contrast, the private sector has surpassed pre-pandemic levels, performing at 126.8% of 2019 activity. Wales and Northern Ireland have experienced the most significant backlogs, exceeding a year's worth of surgeries compared to 2019, while England's deficit is at 66.7%.

The study indicates that an immediate 5% increase in capacity over 2019 levels would delay clearing the backlog until 2040, while a 10% increase might reduce it to 2031. Experts emphasize the need for urgent prioritization to mitigate the impact on patients suffering from pain and disability due to delayed surgeries, as well as of adjusting service volumes based on data insights to reduce patient waiting times across various joint surgeries.