SHA draws attention to high Isle of Wight death rate

The trust was identified, along with Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust and Medway NHS Foundation Trust, as having a higher than expected hospital standardised mortality ratio (HSMR) and summary hospital level mortality indicator (SHMI).

Strategic health authority cluster board papers reveal that “a visit to the trust has been undertaken and assurance gained that appropriate actions have been taken in response to the findings”.

These include: the establishment of a mortality review group; implementation of a sepsis care bundle and a review of the fractured neck of femur pathway.

An action has been implemented. The trust identified “use of residual codes” as one of the causal factors.

“This has improved co-morbidity data used for coding purposes,” the SHA cluster said.