No panic over RAH deaths
Health bosses said they’re confident in the standard of care at Paisley’s hospital after it recorded a higher- thanexpected number of deaths earlier this year.
Ex p e r t s a t He a l t h Improvement Scotland ( HIS), the watchdog for hospital standards, are consulting with health chiefs at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) after the unexpected figures from the Royal Alexandra Hospital and Vale of Leven, in Dumbarton, were released yesterday.
For the period January to March, the Royal Alexandra and Vale of Leven hospitals had significantly higher standardised mortality ratios than the national average.
All deaths at hospitals a c ross Scotland are recorded and analysed by the Scottish Government to produce a quarterly Hospital Standardised Mortality Ratio (HSMR).
HSMR data designed to allow an individual hospital to monitor its progress over time.
It is a measure of mortality adjusted to take account of factors known to affect the underlying risk of death like age, sex, diagnosis, type of admission, number and severity of illness.
This figure is then compared with the actual number of deaths reported to create a mortality ratio.
For the RAH and Vale of Leven, it was 13 per cent higher than expected.
An NHSGGC spokesperson said: “As a Board we are confident in the standards of care in the Royal Alexandra and Vale of Leven hospitals and in the improvement work which has been carried out by the clinical teams.
“However, as HSMR figures there remain higher than the national average, we are continuing to work with the clinical and managerial teams, supported by ISD and Healthcare Improvement Scotland, to identify factors that might be having a bearing on the HSMR figures.
“We will continue to work with Healthcare Improvement Scotland and will meet with them in the near future to discuss progress.
“There are very active quality improvement programmes at these hospitals and a well developed set of arrangements which ensures ongoing monitoring and response to any quality issues which may emerge.”