[Katie Woodall]
A busy mum-of-five has become the first person to receive hip replacement surgery at Bath’s RUH and return home on the same day as her operation..
Getting patients home as soon as they are well enough to leave the hospital can play a big part in aiding their recovery.
Katie Woodall, who is 38 and lives in Saltford, said: “The surgery has been genuinely life-changing – I feel I’ve got my life back.
“I can do simple things again that I couldn’t do before. I’m able to walk my kids to school and go to the park with them. I’m so grateful.
“Since the operation at the RUH I’ve felt like a new person. When I woke up in the recovery room after my operation I was crying happy tears – I could already tell that the constant pain I’d had for so long had gone.
“I was receiving physiotherapy within two hours of returning to the ward and was back home later the same day, which I thought was fantastic.
“There’s still a lot of recovery work ahead and more physio, but I’m already walking with just one crutch and my mobility has improved considerably.
“I’m actually having to teach myself to walk properly again, I’ve spent that long struggling to walk and always in so much pain.”
Katie was full of praise for the care she had received at the RUH.
“It was fantastic,” she said. “The staff were so welcoming and reassuring and were always on hand to help. I’m so grateful for everything they’ve done.”
Katie’s surgeon, Rohit Dhawan, said: “All of the surgical team are delighted to hear what a positive difference this operation has made to Katie’s life.
“This is the first time we have completed this type of surgery and been able to get the patient home on the same day – it really is a great achievement.
“We understand that patients want to get home as soon as they can and we find that they recover better at home too, so hopefully this will become a more common outcome for patients receiving hip and other joint replacements at the RUH.”
Sulis Hospital Bath, a fully operational independent hospital owned by the RUH which treats both NHS and private patients, launched its groundbreaking same-day joint replacement pathway in 2022, paving the way for enhanced patient recovery across the region.
This has seen the average length of stay at Sulis for patients undergoing hip and knee joint replacements decreased from 2.6 days to just 1.1 days, ensuring a quicker return to the comforts of home.
There has also been significant growth in same-day discharges at Sulis – only one patient was discharged on the same day in July 2022, compared to 33 patients in July 2023.
