Worrying Dr Foster Report

As perceptions of the increased quality of NHS medical care improves, the reasons for people opting for private health insurance change. Currently people cite concerns over cleanliness in the NHS as their main reason for choosing private medical insurance. However a recent report highlights that there are great variations in the safety performance of NHS trusts and that patients may be at far greater risk depending on where they live in the country.

The Dr Foster Hospital Guide for 2009 that looked at patient safety said that 27 NHS trusts have a significantly high death rate. 5,024 people with low risk problems died in UK hospitals during 2009.

Roger Taylor, director and co-founder of Dr Foster, an independent organisation said:

'Over the last nine years of the Hospital Guide we have seen a steady improvement in hospital performance but unacceptable variation between hospitals still exists. Dr Foster will continue to publish data in order to provide information to the public, drive improvement in patient care and save lives.

'Hospital trusts should use the Guide to carefully investigate where problems exist, even those who have performed well. Patients and the public should use the Hospital Guide to help make choices about where they want to be treated, to ask the right questions of their health professionals and to hold hospitals to account.'

Dr Foster Guides provide detailed information about NHS hospital treatments and conditions in the UK.

Some other alarming facts from the report are:

• 82 patients were operated on the wrong part of their body
• 1 in 5 trusts do not check patients admitted through A&E for MRSA
• 478 operations were cancelled in 2008/09 because patient notes were missing
• 848 people who died after being admitted with ‘low-risk’ conditions were under the age of 65
• Over 8,000 more operations could have been performed last year if hospitals had treated all hip fractures