TRUST HITS BACK AT HEALTH REPORT

THE HEALTH trust running Coventry’s super hospital has been named as the country’s third worst performing in the country.

The Hospital Guide, published by the Dr Foster organisation, lists University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire Trust (UHCW), as one of the worst for patient safety standards.

It put Coventry joint third based on 13 separate criteria which includes a range of mortality figures, the overall death rate and that for heart attack and stroke patients, the death rate for people admitted with hip fractures and those who were taken to hospital for low-risk procedures or diagnoses.

But Coventry’s University Hospital has challenged the findings of the report.

It has been rated “good” by the official health regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and a spokesman for the hospital trust said various inspections over the last year prove it is not failing patients.

Kerry Beadling, communications officer for UHCW, said: “Dr Foster uses the results of a questionnaire survey, as well as other submitted data. However, the methodology used for overall assessment has not been shared and the Trust believes the data on which the analysis was run was incomplete in relation to UHCW Trust.

“We would like to reassure our patients and public that UHCW prioritises patient safety at all times and the Dr Foster rating does not accurately reflect this, as evidenced by a number of in-depth, onsite, independent reviews.”

She added that in 2008/9 there have been 40 per cent fewer cases
of C.Difficile than in the previous
year while mortality rates have decreased for three years in a row.

Paul Jennings, chief executive of NHS Warwickshire, also defended UHCW.

He said. “We know UHCW very well and we have a much more complete picture than that given just by statistics. The new data from Dr Foster only adds a tiny fraction to that. UHCW is a good hospital trust and patients can be confident of high-quality NHS care when they go there.”

But Roger Taylor, the director of Dr Foster, defended his guide and said more information about trusts should be made public.

He said: “No hospital in the world would claim to be free of these kinds of errors but what has been learned is that recording what is happening and making that information public is the best way to start tackling the issues.”

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