Patient Information

Your questions answered

You can contact the National Office of Clinical Audit at:

2nd Floor, Ardilaun House, Block B,111 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2.

Telephone: + 353 (1) 4028577Email: auditinfo@noca.ie

Website: www.noca.ie

Do I have to consent?No. It is your decision to allow your personalinformation to be put on the register. We needyour consent to record these details.

What happens if I do not consent?If you do not give your consent, it will notaffect your surgery or treatment or post-operative care.

However, details about your surgery such assurgical technique, medications used, surgicalapproach, the date of your surgery, name ofhospital and the implant will be recorded in ananonymised/unidentifiable format on theregister.

You cannot be identified from this information.

How does NOCA keep my informationconfidential?It is our duty to keep your informationconfidential. We will do this by ensuring that:• our staff know their responsibilities and

are trained in handling information; • information is kept on secure computer

systems;• we comply with all regulations relating to

confidentiality and protection of data;• it is only seen by authorised people;• your information is not changed in any way.

NOCA INOR-PL01 v5 - Effective Date April 2018

Irish National OrthopaedicRegister (INOR)

Who can see my records?NOCA and the medical staff in the hospitalwhere you had your surgery will have access toyour information. NOCA will use yourinformation to monitor implant and patientoutcomes.

If you attend another hospital for anotherorthopaedic procedure, the medical staff atthis hospital will be able to view (throughINOR) your implant details and the name ofthe hospital where the first procedure wascarried out.

This provides the surgeon with basicinformation regarding previous surgeries. If thesurgeon needs more information, they willhave to contact you or the hospital where youhad your earlier surgery.

Can I access my information at NOCA?Yes. You can ask NOCA for a copy of thisinformation. You can find further informationon our website or by contacting our office.

What is the Irish National OrthopaedicRegister (INOR)?This Register is a patient safety project whichaims to help orthopaedic surgeons andhospitals in Ireland to improve the quality ofservices and care provided to patients who arehaving or have had joint replacement surgery.

What are the benefits of this register?The information we gather will help surgeonsto decide which joint replacements areperforming well and therefore improve patientsafety and care.

We, the National Office of Clinical Audit(NOCA), will produce national reports onfactors that impact on the success of jointreplacement surgery. You can find out moreabout INOR on our website www.noca.ie

What is the National Office of Clinical Audit(NOCA)?NOCA was established in 2012 to createsustainable clinical audit programmes atnational level.

National clinical audit is an ongoing review ofclinical practice- measuring structures,processes and outcomes to makeimprovements. NOCA supports hospitals tolearn from their audit cycles.

NOCA is funded by the Health ServiceExecutive Quality Improvement Division andsupported by the Royal College of Surgeons inIreland.

What information will be collected?INOR will collect and record your personalinformation and details about your surgery andimplant. Personal information includes yourname, address, date of birth, hospital numberand gender. You may also be asked tocomplete a questionnaire about yourwellbeing.

This helps us measure and improve the qualityof care for hip or knee or other jointreplacements for patients.

Will you tell me if my information is used forthis Register?Yes, we will tell you when we seek yourpermission (consent) to use your personalinformation. You will be asked to sign aconsent form before your operation.

What will happen to my information?INOR keeps your personal and orthopaedicinformation to monitor joint replacements andto improve the care delivered in Irish hospitals.You will get a unique number when you areregistered on INOR.

Your personal details and the unique numberallow NOCA to link you to the implant (s) youreceived. This information is important if yoursurgeon or hospital needs to contact you.

INOR information will be published in nationalreports which will be available on our website.These reports will provide general information– no individual will be identified.

Health care research can also improve care. Inthe future, NOCA may grant health careresearchers access to your data.

This will only happen when researchers submita proposal to a research ethics committee forreview. This ensures that health care researchusing information from the Register is of a highstandard and may contribute to improved carefor patients.

Your personal information - that is informationwhich may identify you such as your name,address and date of birth will NOT be given toany researcher. Therefore we will not contactyou to use the information for this purpose.

Is information collected post operatively(after the operation)?Yes, If your details are on the register, thismeans that a schedule of post-operativeassessments will be carried out at 6 monthsafter your surgery and at two and five-yearintervals over a ten-year period by a specialistorthopaedic nurse.

If necessary, this nurse will refer you to thesurgeon.

At present, a surgeon will organise follow upassessment after surgery. At each assessment,you can ask any questions you might haveabout your surgery or joint replacement.