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Death rates in hospitals revealed by Welsh government 'Fire alarm' warning for hospital patient death rates
(about 5 hours later)
Death rates in hospitals in Wales will be published for the first time later by the Welsh government in its move to improve transparency in the NHS. Eleven out of 17 district general hospitals in Wales have higher death rates than should be expected, according to statistics published by the Welsh government.
It follows last month's inquiry into the deaths of hundreds of patients due to neglect at Stafford Hospital. Officials described the findings as a "fire alarm".
The statistics will show relative mortality rates for hospitals, adjusted to take into account the seriousness of a patient's condition. But they warned there were major problems with the way the data is collected.
The Welsh government said it wanted to increase openness in the Welsh NHS. The statistics are part of a drive to make the NHS more transparent in the wake of the Stafford Hospital scandal.
Last week, a health adviser to the UK government claimed that thousands of hospital deaths could have been prevented had warnings about high mortality rates in some English hospitals been acted upon more quickly. Neglect and abuse at Stafford hospital led to hundreds of unnecessary deaths between 2005 and 2008 and prompted a public inquiry.
'Systemic failing' During the most recent period recorded, five out of six local health boards in Wales had higher scores than should be expected under the NHS's system to measure mortality rates.
The Welsh government says the aim is to make it easier for the public to obtain important information as part of a drive to make the NHS more transparent. Officials described the Risk Adjusted Mortality Index (Rami) as a "fire alarm", but they warned that problems gathering the data made it difficult to interpret the figures.
It said lessons would be learned from the "appalling" neglect at Stafford Hospital after the public inquiry found that failings went right to the top of the health service. Data is collected across the UK.
It highlighted the treatment of hundreds of patients between 2005 and 2008. A score of 100 is considered normal. When an NHS organisation scores more than 100 it could be an indicator that the number of patients who are dying is higher than should be expected.
At the time of the reports publication, the then Welsh health minister Lesley Griffiths said "everything had to be done to make sure that level of systemic failing" does not happen in Wales. However, officials warned higher scores may be due to problems gathering data, rather than lapses in the quality of patient care.
She has since been succeeded by Mark Drakeford, who was appointed in a surprise cabinet reshuffle last week in which Ms Griffiths became minister for local government. The Rami takes into account other factors about patients, including their underlying health, social factors and their lifestyles.
The way the data is collected is known as coding.
Welsh government officials say that coding in Welsh hospitals has not been as good as in the English NHS.
Other annual adjustments to the index make it difficult to compare mortality rates from year to year.
Health Minister Mark Drakeford said: "The Welsh government is committed to transparency on performance and to improving access to NHS information.
"As from today, anyone in Wales can view a measure of hospital mortality data on local health board and Welsh government websites."