Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine
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The independent impact of individual surgical experience and team familiarity on surgical performance has been widely studied; however, the interplay of these factors and their relative, quantified, contributions to performance is poorly understood. We determined the impact of team familiarity and surgeon, and cumulative team experience on operative efficiency in total knee replacement. ⋯ Surgical experience and team familiarity display important and distinct relationships with operative time in total knee replacement. Appreciation of this interplay may serve to guide implementation and allocation of procedure-specific quality improvement strategies in surgery.
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There has been significant concern that austerity measures have negatively impacted health in the UK. We examined whether budgetary reductions in Pension Credit and social care have been associated with recent rises in mortality rates among pensioners aged 85 years and over. ⋯ Rising mortality rates among pensioners aged 85 years and over were linked to reductions in spending on income support for poor pensioners and social care. Findings suggest austerity measures in England have affected vulnerable old-age adults.