I was diagnosed with Hip Dysplasia in my teens after it was missed as a child. Since then I have faced years of multiple hip surgeries and excruciating pain (13 operations since I was aged 18). It's a condition where the 'ball and socket' joint of the hips don't properly form in babies and young children. When not diagnosed early, it can result in lifelong surgery, disability and pain. 
 
But with a simple ultrasound of newborns, it could be picked up quickly and treated with a 95% success rate. That's why I'm calling on the Health Minister to introduce ultrasound screening for newborns. 

1 in 6 children have some form of hip instability and 2 in every 1000 babies need treatment. Ultrasounds could pick up this 'silent' condition and allow the child to have less-intrusive treatment rather than surgery and long hospital stays later on in life. If the diagnosis is missed it may not become apparent until a toddler starts walking with a limp which then can only be corrected by surgery. In girls it is often not picked up till adolescence. 

Early diagnosis, prevention, and simple treatment is the best solution. Austria and Germany routinely perform these scans and it means that late diagnosis is low there. The NHS is incredible and this is in no way meant to cause offence to them as they provide incredible care. Whilst the NHS is in financial crisis, I believe cost of scanning all newborns and treating those with hip dysplasia early may be better than the costs of finding it later with inevitable repeat surgeries, joint replacements, education and career disruption, disability benefits, and treatment for depression and chronic pain.  

We currently check babies using the 'Ortolani test' which is a manual examination where both legs are gently grasped and rotated outwards - a clicking sensation indicates a possible abnormal hip. This manipulation test can unfortunately be unreliable even in experienced hands. It is also suggested that hospitals do not always pick up on bilateral dysplasia as it works on one hip feeling different to the other. 

This is something that needs to change. I beg you to look into this issue and for everyone to sign this petition so we can activate change. This is not a preventable condition yet scanning babies will result in avoiding the need for surgery later in life and cases of disability. Ultrasounds can also be helpful to detect other issues early on too.

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