Shock on hospital’s death rates

Death rates at Dudley hospitals are 26 per cent higher than they should be, according to shocking new figures that have been revealed today.

Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust is among the 10 with the the highest mortality rates nationwide.

But today hospital chiefs said the figures, which relate to 2005-06 were out of date.

The figures for Dudley have dropped from 126 to 96 – below the national baseline, chief executive of the trust, Paul Farenden, said. 

Updated statistics will not released until later this year.

Today’s figures are from a report included in the latest Good Hospital Guide which calculated the rates by using the number of deaths compared with the number of patients who would be expected to die, taking into account factors such as age and complexity of illness.

The baseline is set at 100 with a figure lower than the baseline indicating fewer patients had died than expected and a higher one meaning more had died.

The Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust and the Walsall Hospitals NHS Trust both recorded 110 and the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust 102.

The Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust recorded 127 – the fourth highest in the country.