Hospital rating list concern

THE Pennine Acute Trust is in the top 15 worst trusts in the country for patient safety with a higher than average death rate, according to a new survey.

The trust, which runs the Royal Oldham Hospital as well as hospitals in Rochdale, North Manchester and Bury, was ranked 13th worst out of all 146 hospital trusts across England.

Health watchdog Dr Foster gave the trust a patient safety score of only 8.9 out of 100.

Roger Taylor, director and co-founder of Dr Foster, said: “Over the last nine years, we have seen a steady improvement in hospital performance but unacceptable variation between hospitals still exists.”

The Pennine Acute Trust, which uses a different tool to check hospital mortality, said it has seen a steady improvement.

A trust spokesman said: “The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust monitors mortality on a monthly basis. Dr Foster makes year-on-year comparisons which is unhelpful.”

Concerns have also been raised that another healthcare regulator, the Care Quality Commission, has rated the 12 trusts at the bottom of the table either fair, good or excellent.

Mr Taylor said the commission was not designed to assess patient safety alone, and had used broader evidence such as patient experience.

To access the report, visit www.drfosterhealth.co.uk .