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Mid-Staffs A&E closure: Sir Brian Jarman career profile Mid-Staffs A&E closure: Sir Brian Jarman career profile
(about 2 months later)
With his shock of white hair, sharp suits and sharper opinions, Professor Sir Brian Jarman stands out in a crowd. Ever ready to take a journalist's phone call and with a pithy quote for every occasion, the 80-year-old remains a reporter's friend. He is also a spiky proponent of his brainchild: the hospital standardised mortality ratio (HSMR).With his shock of white hair, sharp suits and sharper opinions, Professor Sir Brian Jarman stands out in a crowd. Ever ready to take a journalist's phone call and with a pithy quote for every occasion, the 80-year-old remains a reporter's friend. He is also a spiky proponent of his brainchild: the hospital standardised mortality ratio (HSMR).
Originally a geophysicist, Jarman retrained as a medic when he was 26. As a high flyer he ended up at Harvard University in the 1970s and saw at first hand how the US system relies on statistics. His interest in NHS numbers began in the 1980s when he discovered that some hospitals had death rates significantly above that expected. He considered publishing the data but thought twice because of the heated politics of Margaret Thatcher's Britain.Originally a geophysicist, Jarman retrained as a medic when he was 26. As a high flyer he ended up at Harvard University in the 1970s and saw at first hand how the US system relies on statistics. His interest in NHS numbers began in the 1980s when he discovered that some hospitals had death rates significantly above that expected. He considered publishing the data but thought twice because of the heated politics of Margaret Thatcher's Britain.
By 1993 Jarman, at Imperial College London, began developing the his idea of mortality ratios. His breakthrough came in January 1999 when he was appointed as the only medical doctor on the 70-strong Bristol Royal Infirmary inquiry team, looking at the deaths of children who underwent heart surgery at the hospital between 1991 and 1995.By 1993 Jarman, at Imperial College London, began developing the his idea of mortality ratios. His breakthrough came in January 1999 when he was appointed as the only medical doctor on the 70-strong Bristol Royal Infirmary inquiry team, looking at the deaths of children who underwent heart surgery at the hospital between 1991 and 1995.
The landmark report found that in this period, for these children, the mortality rate in Bristol was around double that of other centres. Until then access to hospital data was deemed so sensitive that to look at it required Jarman to sign the Official Secrets Act. The inquiry gave the academic a platform for his own ideas on how data could shape better health outcomes.The landmark report found that in this period, for these children, the mortality rate in Bristol was around double that of other centres. Until then access to hospital data was deemed so sensitive that to look at it required Jarman to sign the Official Secrets Act. The inquiry gave the academic a platform for his own ideas on how data could shape better health outcomes.
With the help of Tim Kelsey, then a journalist at the Sunday Times, Jarman managed to get access to the data and published his seminal paper, Explaining differences in English hospital death rates using routinely collected data, in the British Medical Journal in 1999.With the help of Tim Kelsey, then a journalist at the Sunday Times, Jarman managed to get access to the data and published his seminal paper, Explaining differences in English hospital death rates using routinely collected data, in the British Medical Journal in 1999.
By 2001 the Bristol Royal Infirmary inquiry recommended greater openness in hospital data. This led to Kelsey's Doctor Foster publishing its the publication of the first Good Hospital Guide in the Sunday Times in 2001, using Jarman's HSMR. In 2003 Jarman became the president of the British Medical Association, effectively ascending to Olympian heights of prestige in the NHS.By 2001 the Bristol Royal Infirmary inquiry recommended greater openness in hospital data. This led to Kelsey's Doctor Foster publishing its the publication of the first Good Hospital Guide in the Sunday Times in 2001, using Jarman's HSMR. In 2003 Jarman became the president of the British Medical Association, effectively ascending to Olympian heights of prestige in the NHS.
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