A charity that supports children and adults with lower-limb disorders has said too many newborn babies with hip problems are being overlooked while in hospital in the days after their birth.

BBC News reports that the charity STEPS says both parents and medics should be doing more to check babies' hips in their first few weeks of life to prevent pain and permanent disability. Such checks could help diagnose hip problems at an early stage – many such problems are undiagnosed and could be treated with outpatient care if caught early.

The charity says that failing to diagnose hip problems in newborns at an early stage can result in expensive medical care and permanent disability.

The government has said that it takes the problem of hip disorders in newborns ‘very seriously’, however. Around 2,000 children in the UK are diagnosed with developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) every year, according to official figures. The condition ranges from instability to total displacement of the hip.

Simple, non-invasive treatments can be used to treat DDH if it is diagnosed early – but STEPS says that many cases go undiagnosed, resulting in both children and adults having to undergo lengthy treatments, hospitalisation and, occasionally, face permanent disability.

The charity’s founder Sue Banton told BBC News:

‘The current screening policy – despite being in place for 40 years – is simply not working. Due to late or missed diagnosis, valuable time is being lost and we are increasingly supporting the victims of a failing system.’

The Department of Health said that all newborns should undergo a clinical examination to diagnose possible DDH within 72 hours of birth.

Those with an abnormality – or a risk of abnormality – should then have an ultrasound scan with a follow-up at six to eight weeks. However, STEPS has found that many primary care trusts are leaving screening to GPs – and there are no written guidelines on how GPs should do this and no way of measuring the effectiveness of the practice.

STEPS says that parents and medics should be on the lookout for the following symptoms that might indicate a hip problem in a child: one leg appearing to be shorter than the other, an extra-deep crease on the inside of the thigh, dragging one leg when crawling, or walking with a limp or waddle.

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