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A hip fracture is a break in the upper thigh bone. Hip fractures are one of the most common and serious injuries for older people to recover from. The study evaluated patients aged 65 years and older who had a fractured hip and had surgery at a public hospital in New South Wales to mend the fracture. The study found:

• Out of 9,601 hip fracture cases in NSW, there were 706 patients who died within 30 days of surgery
• Hospitals which did not specialise in hip fracture surgery reported higher numbers of patient deaths.  

The CHeReL linked hospital data with death data for the research team to analyse.