Poor performers highlighted

The Health and Social Care Information Centre has released a new analysis of hospital mortality rates, identifying NHS trusts that are performing worse than expected.

The study highlights five trusts as having “higher than expected” mortality rates over a two-year period from July 2010 to June 2012.

It used summary hospital-level mortality indicator data, which compares the actual number of patients who died after being hospitalised with the number who would be expected to die, given the characteristics of the patient.

Tim Straughan, HSCIC chief executive, said the mortality indicator should be seen as an early warning mechanism, not an ultimate judgement of hospitals.

“Today’s report, based on two years of data, shows an emerging picture of which trusts are categorised over time as having higher or lower mortality ratios than expected.”

He added that it was a complex area and that “the vast majority of trusts in England have a mortality ratio that is as expected, based on the characteristics of the patients they will typically treat.”

One of the key findings was that trusts with high mortality rates had a higher proportion of patients from the ‘most deprived areas’, compared to trusts in general.

Also, that trusts in the ‘lower than expected’ group had lower mortality rates for both elective and non-elective admissions compared to trusts overall.

The outcomes of the study differ from the annual Dr Foster Hospital Guide, which also looks at mortality in hospitals.

The Dr Foster report takes into account the SHMI as well as; the hospital standardised mortality ratio, which measures deaths while in hospital; deaths after surgery; and deaths from conditions that patients would normally survive.

Last year it highlighted 12 trusts as causes for concern, but several of those trusts described the indicators used as “flawed”.

The five trusts with a higher than expected mortality rate were; Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust; Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust.

The new study is supplementary to the information centre’s standard quarterly publication of mortality ratios, published yesterday.