NHS publishes operation survival rate

The NHS has this week moved to increase patient choice by publishing national operation survival rates.

It has issued the statistics for four common operations for each trust in England, with the information coming from cardiac survival data previously issued by the Healthcare Commission.

The Department of Health notes the statistics have been published both as raw data and in a user-friendly format.

It claims all hospitals are performing acceptably, with five showing an above-average performance.

The government has also published the Health Informatics Review which sets out a plan for improving the use of information across the health service.

Tim Straughan, chief executive of the NHS Information Centre, said: “High-quality, relevant information is crucial to enable the NHS to deliver world class services and to enable patients to make decisions about their health and care.”

He added his support for the outcome of the Health Informatics Review that has established the NHS Information Centre as the authoritative source of information on health and social care services in England.

In March 2008, the Department of Health said the implementation of new IT systems will result in financial savings and speedier, more convenient and more efficient patient care.