Midland hospitals in UK's worst mortality rate top ten

Apr 25 2007

FIVE Midland hospitals feature in a national top ten of trusts which have the worst mortality rates in the country, it was revealed yesterday.

And the West Midlands region was the worst performing in the country, with eight of its 16 acute trusts recording high one-year and three-year mortality rates.

The worst performing hospital in the mortality table was George Eliot Hospital, in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, which scored 143 against the expected ratio of 100, according to a report by health information firm Dr Foster.

Good Hope Hospital, in Sutton Coldfield, Burton Hospitals in Staffordshire, Mid Staffordshire General Hospitals and Dudley Group of Hospitals were also among the worst ten.

No-one was immediately available for comment from Good Hope Hospital.

Dr Peter Handslip, medical director of George Eliot Hospital, said the trust had carried out a "thorough review" of its data but this had not been reflected in the study.

He said: "This review has resulted in a dramatic improvement in the trust's standardised mortality rate since August 2006.

Paul Farenden, chief executive of Dudley Group Hospitals - which ranked eighth worst mortality score - said the trust "did not support" the methods used by Dr Foster.

He added: "The report published today gives an unreasonable representation of our mortality rates, as the methodology of the Dr Foster data collection and analysis ignores existing or underlying conditions, or take into account different levels of specialist activity."

A Department of Health spokesman said: "At present it can be difficult for patients to get a true picture of a hospital's overall performance from the available data because it covers so many different areas.

"We will, however, be bringing all the available data together in a website which will help patients make informed choices about their health and healthcare."

The worst performing NHS trusts on mortality 2005/06 (score in brackets) were:

1. George Eliot Hospital (143)

2. Kettering General Hospital (136)

3. Good Hope Hospital (132)

4. Burton Hospitals (130)

5. Mid Staffordshire Hospitals (127)

6. Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals Foundation (126)

7. Medway NHS (126)

8. Dudley Group of Hospitals (126)

9. Tameside and Glossop Acute Services (125)

10. North Middlesex University Hospital (123)