Mike McNicholas and his team at Aintree University Hospital have won the Trust excellence award for innovative practice in surgery, for introducing an enhanced rehabilitation for knee joint replacement patients.

Mike McNicholas worked with Anaesthetist and Clinical Director of the UHA Anaesthetic Department, Dr Dave Raw, to introduce the enhanced rehabilitation that has been shown to make surgery safer.  The rehabilitation also means patients now spend a shorter time in hospital after their knee replacement operation, allowing them to get home sooner.

After the approach was introduced, most patients were ready to leave hospital safely on average 2-3 days after their operation – substantially quicker than before.

The approach was adopted at Aintree University Hospital after several years of Spire Cheshire Hospital patients benefitting directly from the technique, which was introduced by Mike and Dr Mark Forrest, his Consultant Anaesthetic colleague.