The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Provision of Minor Orthopaedic Trauma Procedures in Ireland

Abstract

Background: The Covid-19 pandemic has affected healthcare systems worldwide including a reduction in the volume of non-essential procedures and treatments. This study explores the impact on the provision of minor orthopaedic trauma procedures from public hospitals in Ireland during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Methods: Administrative data from 2018-2020 on hospital episodes with minor orthopaedic trauma procedures were obtained and grouped into six categories of index procedures. The Covid-19 pandemic was defined from 29th February 2020 when the first case was registered in Ireland until 30th September 2020. The number of admissions, percentage of day cases, and the average length of stay for inpatients were compared with similar periods in 2018 and 2019. Results: There were 1433 (-27.0%) fewer admissions for the index procedures during the first 30 weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic than during the similar weeks of 2018 and 2019. The proportion of day cases remained largely unchanged (37.7% vs 38.1%) while the average length of stay for inpatients reduced significantly (p=0.006) from 3.1 to 2.7 days during the pandemic. Conclusion: During the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a substantial reduction in the volume of minor orthopaedic trauma procedures and a reduction in the average inpatient length of stay for patients with minor orthopaedic injuries.