Mortality Rates
Performance of individual surgeons to be published by next summer
Hospitals providing care to NHS patients will be required to publish information on the performance of individual consultant surgeons working across 10 specialties by summer 2013.
Concern over 12 trusts' death rates
Death rates at 12 hospital trusts in England were alarmingly high last year, according to an influential report.
District general hospitals top efficiency league
District general hospitals are the most clinically efficient in the NHS, a major study has revealed.
Mandate approach will avoid perverse incentives
The government has rejected the use of fixed national targets in its mandate to the NHS Commissioning Board in favour of seeking continuous improvement against the NHS outcomes framework.
No set targets in revised mandate
The government has rejected the use of set national targets in the final version of its mandate to the NHS Commissioning Board, in favour of seeking continuous improvement against the NHS outcomes framework.
MPs call for improved diabetes care
Too many patients with diabetes are developing potentially life-threatening complications because they are not receiving the straightforward care and support they need, according to MPs.
Impact of deprivation on death rates limited
Ten trusts had a higher than expected mortality rate during 2011-12, in comparison to 14 during the previous year, latest data reveals.
Breast screening 'should be axed' - claim
The UK breast screening programme may be damaging more women’s lives than it saves and should be scrapped, according to a professor.
Charity highlights rare cancer mortality
A leading cancer support charity has called on government and NHS Commissioning Board to ensure that patients suffering from all types of the disease are given the “best” chance of survival.
Hunt backs 'simple and short' NHS mandate
The new health secretary wants to publish a “simple and short” mandate for the NHS, in order to “unleash local innovation”, he has said.
Health minister claims MPs becoming more 'responsible' about reconfiguration
New health minister Daniel Poulter has insisted politicians are becoming more far-sighted in their approach to debates about service reconfiguration.
Warning over bone cancer diagnosis
A dangerous form of bone cancer is often being misdiagnosed by GPs as growing pains, a charity has warned.
Hospitals criticised over baby infection delays
Some hospitals are causing “unnecessary delays” in treating newborn babies suffering from infections, the healthcare watchdog has said.
Bed waiting times soar for A&E admissions
The number of patients waiting more than four hours in emergency departments for a bed to become available has rocketed in the past year, HSJ analysis reveals.
Room for manoeuvre on public health funding formula
Controversial proposals for distributing public health funding that would see a major transfer of resources from poor to rich areas could yet be significantly changed, it has emerged.
Mortality rate for mental illness is three times the population average
People who suffer with a serious mental illness have a mortality rate three times as high as those in the general population, according to new research.
Keogh outlines junior doctor death-rate measures
Patients are put at risk when junior doctors start work, the NHS medical director conceded as he outlined measures to end the so-called health service “killing season”.
Watchdog claims doctors are failing cardiac arrest patients
Cardiac arrests in hospitals could be prevented if doctors recognise and act on early warning signs more quickly, a health watchdog has said.
Minimum alcohol price set to become law
Plans for minimum alcohol pricing will be approved in Scotland today, which will become in the process the first part of the UK to pass the legislation.
Record low in post-50 cancer deaths achieved
The number of people in their 50s dying prematurely from cancer in the UK has reached a record low, new figures have revealed.
More on Mortality Rates
Combating mortality rates
A casenote review of how one trust chose to explore the root of its high mortality rate
A few words on self-management
Multilingual peer educators in north west London are helping people in hard to reach communities manage their diabetes, say Sunder Chita and colleagues.
Analysing the results of the largest ever stroke care survey
The Stroke Association conducted the largest ever survey of stroke survivors undertaken in the UK to get a better understanding of the issues facing stroke survivors in their daily lives. Joe Korner looks at the responses.
How a lean approach can improve care for the growing number of cancer patients
In times where advanced treatments and a population living longer are putting pressure on services, cancer care must transform itself to meet this demand while at the same time as providing efficient, high quality, coordinated and patient-centred service delivery.
The three key principles behind clinical decisions on resuscitation
“Do not attempt cardio-pulmonary resuscitation” orders can be a contentious area for clinical teams. Duncan Astill and Nick Morton unpick the principles behind them.
How a new heart valve treatment can improve heart disease mortality rates
A new treatment available to combat valvular heart disease could be an opportunity to improve the care provided to those who would previously have been too ill for open heart surgery - and cut mortality rates in patients with the disease. Dr Mark De Belder explains.
