A London hospital last night claimed it might be the first in the world to publish death rates for all its clinical specialities. In a move that could open the floodgates on the provision of information to patients, it has detailed statistics on how its various departments performed.
St George's in Tooting, south-west London, is already one of only a few hospitals in Britain to publish the results for individual heart surgeons, a controversial move opposed by many elsewhere, as was seen when the Guardian used Freedom of Information legislation earlier this year to force other hospitals to reveal their figures.
But although the performance of individual surgeons and doctors is not revealed in the new statistics, the figures for more than 20 specialities, from birth to geriatrics, are designed to give a far broader overall picture of the hospital. The measure is bound to increase pressure on the rest of the NHS to follow suit.
Senior doctors at St George's stress that it will be some time before all hospitals can be directly compared, because there is no common formula nationally for risk adjustment of figures, taking account, for instance, of the seriousness of individual patients' conditions.
But the trust says it wants to enter into dialogue with patients and the wider public over its clinical performance. As patients are given more choice of hospitals at which they can be treated, they will seek more information on their reputation and safety.
The chief executive, Peter Homa, said: "Our patients are increasingly well-informed, and will very shortly be in a position to make choices about where they go for their treatment. Many factors will play a part in those choices, and issues like car parking and cleanliness will be important.
"However we know that the more serious and complex the operation, the more the clinical safety record and reputation of the hospital will be a factor for the patient, in consultation with their GP."
He said the figures, while adjusted for risk, should be understandable to patients.
Mike Bailey, medical director at the trust, said consultants at the hospital had been "enthusiastic and supportive"."
The death rates are published in the form of graphs on the trust website at: www.stgeorges.nhs.uk/mortalityintro.asp.
