Stafford Hospital scandal: Nine more hospital trusts to be investigated over deaths

[super jumbe]

Nine more hospital trusts are to be investigated over their mortality rates, health officials said.

The NHS Commissioning Board (NHS CB) said the nine trusts have been "outliers" on the Hospital Standardised Mortality Ratio (HSMR) for two years running.

Medical director Sir Bruce Keogh is to investigate North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust, United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Medway NHS Foundation Trust and Burton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Last week Sir Bruce announced he would be investigating five trusts which were identified by the Summary Hospital-level Mortality Indicator (SHMI) as having higher than expected death rates.

Link: Stafford Hospital scandal: Nine more hospital trusts to be investigated over deaths - Crime - UK - The Independent

[GastonJ]

The last line says it all

***8220;The purpose of my investigation is to assure patients, public and Parliament that these hospitals understand why they have a high mortality and have all the support they need to improve..***8221;

Doesn't mean he'll find anything untoward, just that he wants to reassure the public. There might be a reasonable explanation of the deaths "more than expected" isn't a particularly scientific statement really is it. Could be that they have A&E's close to motorways and have more severe crash injuries than other hospitals, or are more isolated and so don't get the patients in time. We'll have to wait for the reports.

I'm sure if they all close their A&E departments the death rates will decrease dramatically since they'll have no patients arrive from life threatening injuries, however I doubt that is a passable answer.

[super jumbe]

Ya it does make sense, patient goes to hospital in ambulance and goes home in body bag, how good it would sound if it was other way round, come to think why patient bother going to hospital if they can live longer life staying in own house!!!!!!

[GastonJ]

Aye most accident victims, even those with major head injuries, go to hospital in an ambulance (it's called an emergency service - I hope that's not news to you, and why A&E departments exist). Oddly enough people who have major accidents and to such places sometimes don't survive.

Nor do I see anything in the link which indicates that people go to hospital in ambulances for ingrown toenails and die? perhaps a tad more detail in the article would help, however perhaps that would be expecting too much really. After all as he's said he's said the purpose of his investigation is to reassure the public.

Nothing in that article indicates that anyone has committed a crime, so you'd have to ask why it's in the "crime" section - perhaps it sells newspapers? *shrug*