Mapping choice in the NHS: Analysis is only as good as data

doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7496.906-c

BMJ 2005;330:906-907 (16 April), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7496.906-c

Letter

Mapping choice in the NHS

Analysis is only as good as data

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—Living in the north of England, I was drawn tothe article by Damiani et al on mapping choice in the NHS bythe large red patches on the maps that covered what I thinkof as my local area.¹ Large areas of the north of England seemto be an unacceptably long travelling time from the nearesthospital.

However, looking a little closer I realised that large hospitalsat Ashington, South Shields, Carlisle, Hexham, Whitehaven, Barrow,Lancaster, and Preston are missing from the map. This lack ofaccuracy on hospital locations in the part of the country thatI know makes me worry about the accuracy of hospital locationsplotted in the rest of the country.

The authors say that they obtained the postcodes of all NHStrusts dealing with acute conditions. I suspect that they mayhave obtained a list of postcodes of trust headquarters. Unfortunately,. . . [Full text of this article]

Matthew Walmsley, general practitioner

Marsden Road Health Centre, South Shields NE34 6RE matthew.walmsley@doctors.org.uk

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