10:58am Monday 30th November 2009
TWO Hampshire health trusts have been placed in the second highest category (band four) in a national study by NHS watchdogs.
The Dr Foster Hospital Guide has given every trust a rating based on several safety indicators, including deaths, errors in surgery, infection rates and staffing levels.
Each trust has been awarded a score of between 0 and 100 and placed in one of five bands, with band five being the highest.
Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust and Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust are both in band four, with scores of 78.77 and 65.75 respectively.
But Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation is in band two, with a score of only 19.18.
No Hampshire organisations are in band one, which represents the worst performing trusts. The 40-page report also compares the mortality rates at hospitals across the country, using the figure 100 to represent the national average.
Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust has received a rating of 110, indicating a death rate that is ten per cent above average.
However, the report praises the trust for the care received by people who have suffered a heart attack.
It says 98 per cent of patients are offered angioplasty, in which surgeons widen a narrowed or obstructed blood vessel to improve blood flow.
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