Written question asked by Stephen O'Brien (Conservative) on Tuesday, 30 March 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 6 April 2010. It was answered by Mike O'Brien (Labour) on Wednesday, 7 April 2010 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Patients: Death

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to monitor hospital standardised mortality ratios in each NHS hospital trust.

Answer: Hospital Standardised Mortality Ratios (HSMRs) for each acute hospital trust in England are published on the NHS Choices website and are updated regularly. The Care Quality Commission has an ongoing programme of review of HSMRs, alongside a range of other data, such as readmission rates, infection rates and reported incidents, as well as information from inspections, the public and other organisations, as part of its system for the registration of national health service trusts.

Secondary information