Post-operative Mortality Rate

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the post-operative mortality rate has been in NHS hospitals in each year since 1997; what assessment she has made of the post-operative mortality rate in other developed countries; what steps she is taking to reduce the post-operative mortality rate; and if she will make a statement. (74049)

The specific information as requested in not collected centrally.

The National Centre of Health Outcomes Development (NCHOD) publishes data on post-operative death rates for emergency procedures. This is available for primary care trusts and strategic health authorities for the last six years up to 2003-04. This is shown in the table.

*Deaths within 30 days of a hospital procedure: surgery (non-elective admissions)*
	1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04
Number of Completed in-patient spells—Denominator	337,430	350,864	347,810	348,459	358,147	367,400
Number of deaths—Numerator	18,295	18,258	17,553	17,001	17,272	17,273
Standardised Postoperative death rate¹	5,363.7	5,223.8	5,002.7	4,878.9	4,917.1	4,850.2
¹ Precisely: the indirectly age, sex and OPCS4 chapter/selected sub-chapter standardised rate per 100,000 people. Source: Hospital Episodes Statistics, NCHOD financial year—February 2005 and National Statistics Indirectly age and sex standardised rates per 100,000 people Standardised to persons 2001-02

Post-operative death rates by trust are also published by the Healthcare Commission as part of trusts’ star ratings. The latest information is available for the calendar year 2004 at:

ratings2005.healthcarecommission.org.uk/Trust/Indicator/indicators.asp?trustType=l

There are no comprehensive reviews available on international comparisons of post-operative mortality rates.

The level of risk is dependent upon the type of operation. There are many different operations carried out with different risks. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence through its guidance, National Patient Safety Agency through its national reporting and learning system and patient safety solutions and the national confidential enquiry into patient outcome and death, work to improve standards of healthcare for the benefit of the public.

Volume 448: debated on Wednesday 12 July 2006