Fifty-five patients presenting with fractured neck of femur were randomly allocated to either a standard general anaesthetic or spinal block in the lateral position combined with light sedation. The comparability of the two groups was established. There was little difference in the intra-operative course of postoperative morbidity in the two groups. There was a statistically significant difference in post-operative mortality between two groups, the general anaesthetic group showing a much higher mortality than the spinal group.