Severe nurse shortages at Walsall Manor Hospital have been linked to high death rates in a report.

Walsall Hospitals Trust has been identified as having one of the lowest nurse to bed ratio in England – the eighth worst in the country.

Today Manor bosses said the report’s findings were misleading because its death rate figures had halved in the last eight years. According to the report by Dr Foster Intelligence Walsall’s nurse to bed ratio was 1.31.

In addition, its death rate status was deemed “high”.

The figures relate to checks on staffing levels in 147 hospitals with accident and emergency departments between April 1 2007 and March 31, 2008, which was compared to data on national hospital activity for day care and inpatients.

In contrast, there were 49 other trusts with a high nurse per bed ratio where nearly half had a low death rate.

Researchers claim the figures show there are lower death rates and shorter hospital stays where there were more nurses per bed.

Sue James, chief executive at the Manor, said: “This is the first time we have seen these disparate data being presented together in this way and at face value it is difficult to comment on their validity.”

Recent data indicated mortality rates had almost halved in the last eight years, she added.