OET transfer letter after hip replacement: writing mobility, precautions and rehab goals
In an OET Nursing transfer letter after a hip replacement, state the patient, the operation, the transfer date and what you want the rehabilitation team to do in the first paragraph. Then give the details they will act on: current mobility and assistance needed, any movement precautions, wound and pain management, medicines exactly as written in the notes, and follow-up. Leave out theatre details and social history that will not change their care.
Who reads the letter and what they need
After a hip replacement, a patient may be transferred from the surgical ward to a rehabilitation unit, a community hospital or a residential facility before going home. The reader, often a nurse in charge of the receiving unit, needs to continue care safely from the first day. They need to know:
- who the patient is, what operation they had and when,
- how they move now and how much help they need,
- any precautions the surgical team has set,
- the wound, pain and medicine plan,
- the goals of rehabilitation and the follow-up.
A clear Purpose statement covers the first point and the main request in one or two sentences. See OET discharge and transfer letters for the general structure.
Accuracy note: this is a writing guide, not orthopaedic advice. Precautions, weight-bearing instructions and medicines vary by patient and surgeon, so copy them exactly from the case notes and do not add your own.
What to include and what to leave out
| Usually include | Usually leave out (unless it changes care) |
|---|---|
| Operation, side and date | Theatre timings and anaesthetic details |
| Current mobility, aids and assistance | Day-by-day walking distances |
| Weight-bearing status and precautions as written | General precautions from your own knowledge |
| Wound condition and dressing or clip/suture plan | Every dressing change on the ward |
| Pain control and how well it works | Medicines that have been stopped and do not matter |
| Anticoagulant or other key medicines as written | A full list copied without selection |
| Rehabilitation goals and follow-up | Hobbies and history with no effect on care |
| Home situation if it affects discharge planning | Family details with no bearing on rehab |
Turning surgical notes into sentences
| Case notes style | Letter sentence |
|---|---|
| "R THR 4/6, uncomplicated" | "She underwent an uncomplicated right total hip replacement on 4 June." |
| "FWB, walking frame, 1 assist transfers" | "She is fully weight-bearing and walks with a frame, requiring the assistance of one person for transfers." |
| "Hip precautions 6/52 – no flexion >90°" | "She should not bend her right hip beyond 90 degrees for six weeks." |
| "Wound clean/dry, clips out day 12" | "Her wound is clean and dry, and her clips are due for removal on day 12 after surgery." |
| "Pain 3/10 on regular analgesia" | "Her pain is well controlled on regular analgesia, and she rates it as 3 out of 10." |
Write dates consistently and avoid ambiguous day counts. "Day 12 after surgery (16 June)" is clearer than "D12". See dates and times in OET letters.
Paragraph plan
- Purpose: patient, operation, transfer date, main request.
- Surgery and progress: what was done and how recovery has gone.
- Mobility and precautions: current level, aids, assistance, precautions.
- Wound, pain and medicines: what the reader must continue.
- Goals and follow-up: rehabilitation goals, appointments, home situation if relevant.
Keep each paragraph to one topic. For more on paragraphing, see the Organisation & Layout criterion.
Worked example (invented case)
Notes (invented): Mrs Gwen Ashworth, 81. R total hip replacement 4 Jun for osteoarthritis, uncomplicated. Fully weight-bearing, walking frame, 1 assist transfers, supervision in shower. Hip precautions 6 weeks: no flexion > 90°, raised toilet seat. Wound clean and dry; clips out 16 Jun. Pain 3/10 on regular paracetamol; oxycodone as needed, used once in last 48 h. Anticoagulant injection daily until 2 Jul (chart enclosed). Lives alone, 2nd-floor flat with lift. Daughter visits weekly. Goal: walk independently with stick, manage shower alone, then home. Ortho review 16 Jul. Transfer to Elmfield Rehabilitation Unit 9 Jun. Former librarian. Has a cat (neighbour caring for it).
Letter body:
I am writing to refer Mrs Ashworth, aged 81, who is being transferred to your unit on 9 June following a right total hip replacement, for continued rehabilitation before her return home.
Mrs Ashworth underwent an uncomplicated right total hip replacement on 4 June for osteoarthritis.
She is fully weight-bearing and walks with a frame. She currently requires the assistance of one person for transfers and supervision in the shower. For six weeks after surgery, she should not bend her right hip beyond 90 degrees, and she needs a raised toilet seat.
Her wound is clean and dry, and her clips are due for removal on 16 June. Her pain is well controlled on regular paracetamol, and she has needed oxycodone only once in the past 48 hours. She is receiving a daily anticoagulant injection until 2 July, as shown on the enclosed chart.
Mrs Ashworth lives alone in a second-floor flat with a lift. The goal of her rehabilitation is to walk independently with a stick and shower without help so that she can return home. She has an orthopaedic review on 16 July.
The letter leaves out her former job, her cat and her daughter's visits, because none of them change her rehabilitation. Every clinical detail comes from the invented notes.
Common mistakes
- Listing the whole physiotherapy record. Give the current level and the goal, not every session.
- Writing precautions vaguely. "Be careful with her hip" is not enough; give the exact precaution from the notes.
- Forgetting the end date of a medicine. If the notes say when a medicine stops, the reader needs that date. See medications in OET letters.
- Mixing tenses. Use the past for the operation, the present for her current status and the future for plans. See verb tenses in OET letters.
- No clear request. End with what you want the unit to do or the follow-up they must arrange.
Also see falls risk and mobility letters and post-operative discharge letters.
Practise and check
Practise a timed letter at /writing/, or check a letter you have written to get an estimated grade, a mark for each of the six criteria and line-by-line corrections. medEmu is an independent practice tool for OET Writing for Nursing; its grades are estimates, and it is not affiliated with OET.
Sources
This guide is medEmu's writing advice, not official OET guidance and not clinical advice; all patients, operations, precautions and medicines are invented for practice, and a real letter must follow the case notes and local guidance. The network used for this run could not reach oet.com, so no OET test facts are stated beyond the criterion names. For OET's official Writing information, see oet.com.