​From the autumn, the Region plans to operate on patients who need knee and hip surgery in a new centre at Gentofte Hospital. Experience from other similar centres shows that efficiency can be improved if planned orthopaedic surgeries are centralised, allowing them to be performed without interruption from acute injuries.

“It is crucial that patients are treated by the same surgeon throughout the entire process, which means that the surgeon who does the preliminary examination of the patient at the local hospital also operates on the patient at the centre".

"Experienced surgeons from the acute care hospitals will take turns having a surgical day at Gentofte, where they are initially expected to operate on four patients a day, and the ambition is to achieve five,” says Regional Council Chairman Lars Gaardhøj (Social Democratic Party)".

He emphasises that it is essential that we constantly focus on efficiency improvements and more innovative ways of organising ourselves so that we can increase capacity, reduce waiting times and maintain good coherent processes.

Not only are people with planned knee and hip surgeries expected to undergo surgery more quickly, but acute care is also expected to become more efficient.

“We expect waiting times for acute surgery to be shorter. We do not meet all national targets for acute surgery in the Region. In 2024, only slightly more than half of patients with hip femur fractures were operated on within 24 hours of arrival at the hospital, whereas the quality database has a target of 90%. We want to do something about that,” says Christoffer Buster Reinhardt (Conservative People’s Party), Chairman of the Health Committee.

Transport on the day of surgery only

Patients will primarily be treated at their local hospital, so they will only need to travel to Gentofte on the day of their surgery. Efforts are being made to enable more patients to go home the same day as their surgery.

If a short hospitalisation is needed, the patient will be admitted to Gentofte Hospital after the surgery. If follow-up care is required after surgery, it will be provided at the patient’s local hospital, while rehabilitation will take place in the municipality.

The centre, with its experienced surgical teams, will be a place for patients throughout the Capital Region of Denmark. At the same time, the centre can also be part of a future Region of Eastern Denmark. 

The centre will contribute to the development and innovation of elective procedures throughout the Region. The focus is on it becoming a joint development centre for the orthopaedic surgery departments.  

Maintain exercise and weight loss

Last year, the Capital Region of Denmark decided that people with osteoarthritis of the knee should undergo a programme of exercise and weight loss before deciding whether they need surgery. The Region maintains this focus. With a consistent and standardised focus on exercise, hopefully, some patients will find that they can avoid or postpone surgery.