Belford has highest mortality rate

BELFORD Hospital has the highest rate in Scotland of people dying within 30 days of being admitted, despite an overall reduction nationwide, writes Neill Bo Finlayson.

Figures released from the Scottish Government show that for the period July to September 2017, Belford Hospital had a significantly higher mortality rate than the national average and was the highest in the country.

Across Scotland, there were 6,084 deaths within 30 days of hospital admission during the 2017 period – 14 per cent fewer than predicted – while there has been a 10.6 per cent decrease in the mortality rate overall since 2014. This means that the Scottish Government’s target to cut the mortality rate by 10 per cent between 2014 and 2018 has already been met.

Belford Hospital in Fort William, however, is an exception to the trend, measuring a ratio that is almost double the national average.

The figures were compiled to reveal the Hospital Standardised Mortality Ratios (HSMR) in Scotland, giving an overall measure of the number of people dying within 30 days of being admitted to hospital.

The HSMR takes account of patients who die within 30 days of being admitted to hospital, including those who die in the community, but does not include patients who die in hospital more than 30 days after they were admitted for treatment.

NHS Highland said that the high mortality rate in Fort William may be down to the number of beds at Belford Hospital and the lack of a community hospital or hospice in the area.

A representative of NHS Highland explained: ‘Mortality ratios are calculated four times a year for all hospitals in Scotland.

‘A slight rise in actual mortality and a small decrease in the predicted mortality rate has occurred for Belford Hospital.

‘This has caused a single data point which is higher than usual but may simply be normal statistical variation, which can easily occur for a hospital with fewer than 40 beds in an area which has no community hospital or hospice.

‘NHS Highland will be checking that all usual care and monitoring procedures are in place in the hospital.

‘As a standard response in these circumstances, we will be reviewing all relevant clinical cases.’

The health watchdog Healthcare Improvement Scotland may now work with NHS Highland to investigate the Belford’s mortality rate as part of the government’s patient safety programme.