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Hospital death rates to be published for England

John Warden, parliamentary correspondent, BMJ

Comparative mortality rates for NHS hospitals in England are to be published in October, the health secretary Frank Dobson announced this week. The move has been contemplated for over a year but has been accelerated by the case in Bristol, where death rates of children after heart surgery were unacceptably high (6 June, p 1691).

Mr Dobson has decided that reassurance to patients should have priority over the reservations of doctors. He told MPs at a Commons meeting: "The appalling tragedy in Bristol cannot be allowed to happen ever again. These [mortality] tables will enable us to identify potential problems at an early stage and to act if necessary."

The tables will show the death rate per operation in each hospital after different procedures, including cardiac surgery, surgery for cancer, and routine operations such as hip replacements. Mortality tables for Scottish hospitals . . . [Full text of this article]

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