The Scottish Arthroplasty Project

Aim of the Scottish Arthroplasty Project

The Scottish Arthroplasty Project (SAP) aims to encourage continual improvement in the quality of care provided to joint replacement surgery (arthroplasty) patients. This is currently achieved through the auditing of routinely collected SMR01 national data in Scotland.

Feedback to Orthopaedic Consultants

  • SAP provides feedback to orthopaedic consultants in three ways:
  • Consultants are sent a list of arthroplasty patients recorded as undergoing joint replacement surgery under their care, so that the consultant can check that the right information has been submitted to SAP.
  • A national report is produced, which includes national information about the number of hip and knee joint replacements being performed and information at an NHS Board level.
  • SAP's work is discussed at the Scottish Committee for Orthopaedics and Trauma (SCOT) and new developments are presented to orthopaedic surgeons at the annual SCOT meeting.

    • Latest News

    The Scottish Arthroplasty Project now produces national reports on an annual basis.

    The Scottish Arthroplasty Project National Report 2024 (external link) was published on Tuesday 6 August 2024 on the Public Health Scotland (PHS) website.

    This release by PHS presents data on the number of arthroplasty (joint replacement) operations in Scotland between 2001 and 2023 and on the frequency of complications such as infection or revision surgery following hip and knee replacements.