Death rates ‘within range’

PENNINE Acute Trust death rates are within the expected range, a new report says.

It is the first time mortality rates for hip replacements, knee replacements, planned repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm and emergency repair of aortic aneurysm have been revealed.

The Department of Health report has found that survival rates for these operations were within the expected range at Pennine Acute Trust, which runs hospitals in Oldham, Rochdale, North Manchester and Bury.

But the crude figures show wide variations. Some hospitals have three times the death rate expected while others have less than half.

Publication of the survival rates puts into action one of the report’s key recommendations — to give patients a greater say in the care they receive by extending choice on treatment options.

It also builds on the Department of Health’s commitment, to enhance quality and choice, which was outlined in the NHS Next Stage Review, published on June 30.

The data, which indicate the success of an operation, have been published on the NHS’ website — www.nhs.co.uk — as part of the hospital scorecard, which allow patients to compare treatment options from a range of clinical and non-clinical data such as length-of-stay and MRSA rates.

A spokesman for the Royal Oldham Hospital welcomed the publication of the report. He said: “Everything which helps patients to make a better informed decision about their treatment can only be good.

“We have already made a great deal of progress in improving on clinical practices and standards and we will continue to improve so that we can provide the very best care to each patient on every occasion.”