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compensation following an accident
illness or injury - nationwide
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Hospital death rates, while sometimes indicative of underlying problems, are not necessarily of significance in establishing whether a particular hospital is a hotbed for medical negligence.
In fact, a study by the Birmingham University, published in the Health Service Journal (HSJ) came to the conclusion that any such inference should be viewed as "at best ambiguous and at worst potentially misleading".
The study is important because it provides balance, contradicting the links made between death rates and medical negligence often inferred by readers of the authoritative Dr Foster Intelligence Hospital Guide.
The authors of the Birmingham University study comment, "We found little or no evidence that a high standardised mortality ratio systematically reflects poor quality of care or a failing hospital."
Part of the problem in establishing any kind of link may be the variance in the way particular hospitals record death rates, something which may explain death rate differentials of up to 30% between hospitals and care institutions which provide similar types of care to similar patients.
However, Dr Foster Intelligence believe that their reports and league tables remain a valuable resource. With a spokesperson from the group commenting, "We believe the HSMR to be a robust measure of overall mortality, but that it should be used in conjunction with other indicators in the assessment of care quality.
"Analysis of mortality in individual diagnoses and procedures, as well as the analysis of other outcome and process indicators, is invaluable in explaining variations between trusts."
It seems that the Department of Health are grateful for debate. A spokesperson says, "We welcome all contributions to the development indicators that will help improve our knowledge of clinical quality. It is important that indicators are accurate, technically robust, meaningful and adjusted for risk. The more scientific debate there is about how to achieve this the better.
"The Birmingham University study looked at only one particular measure, the overall hospital standardised mortality ratio. This is not the same as the procedure-specific survival rates that have been well validated in several specialties now."
Medical negligence lawyers
When we undergo treatment or surgery in a hospital we are completely placing ourselves in the care of medical professionals. If, under these circumstances, something goes wrong, the injury sustained, whether physical, mental or both, can be lasting and traumatic.
Claiming compensation for these sufferings, while never able to reverse the damage, can at least help the claimant cope with the fallout from a clinical accident.
Our medical negligence lawyers can help provide you with money to compensate for loss of earnings and medical expenses, as well as the distress and trauma of the injury and substandard treatment itself.
We have a wealth of experience in representing such claims, and all our representatives are governed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, a branch of the Law Society.
While certain costs to the client are unavoidable in this type of litigation, we endeavour to both keep them to a minimum and explain them all in advance. These are all fully reimbursable in the event your claim is a success (as most those we handle are).
In addition, the fact we do not make any cuts, means all winning clients receive 100 percent compensation.
To contact us, you can fill out an internet claim form or call a legal advisor on 0800 10 757 95.
