You, or someone you care about, need to go into hospital. Isn't that dangerous these days? First there was the Francis report into Stafford hospital, which revealed terrible standards of care. Then the NHS medical director Bruce Keogh's report into other failing hospitals led to "hit squads" being put into 11 hospitals to reduce preventable deaths. Since being ill can make even the most assertive person feel vulnerable, should you check out how good a hospital is before you set foot in it?
Solution
You can piece together some evidence for the quality of any NHS hospital. High-quality care is defined as safe, clinically effective and providing a good experience for patients. A basic quality measure is the hospital's standardised mortality ratio, which calculates the likelihood of an individual patient dying (allowing for their condition, age and social background) compared with the actual number of deaths in different hospitals. This is available in Dr Foster's Good Hospital Guide and is one way to identify poorly performing hospitals.
However, it is a blunt way. A paper in the New England Journal of Medicine says its value is limited because there are various methods for comparing hospital death rates that can give very different results. You may also prefer to look for quality indicators other than risk of dying. The Care Quality Commission (which has itself been criticised for cover-ups) also produces hospital reports that include whether staffing levels are satisfactory. Your GP will get feedback about hospitals, especially which ones cancel appointments or operations at the last minute – being messed about is upsetting and inconvenient when you have taken time off work.
NHS Choices has reviews and ratings on hospitals from patients, and this week is due to publish data on the friends and family test, in which people are asked if they would recommend the hospital or ward to family or friends.
The website Patient Opinion has rich discussions from patients about their care and a variety of responses from hospitals. Dr Paul Hodgkin, its chief executive, says the quality of responses – if they are friendly, human and honest, bodes well for quality of care.
If you are having surgery, check how many procedures your surgeon does – for common procedures, fewer than 50 a year is associated with increased complications.
If you aren't happy about the hospital recommended, talk to your GP. The NHS Choice Framework says you can go wherever you want for your first appointment.
• This article was amended on 6 August 2013. An earlier version said the Francis report into the care provided by Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust found at least 1,200 deaths over five years could have been prevented. The Francis report did not make that finding.
