MORE than 300 more people died in the care of Coventry’s University Hospital trust than the national average last year.
NHS figures show there were 319 excess deaths at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust.
The data reveals how many more patients are dying at the trust than is ‘expected’ based on the average number of deaths across England, and the characteristics of patients treated there.
Characteristics of the patients treated include age, sex, method of admission as well as current and underlying medical conditions.
The newly released figures for 2017 are for all hospital trusts in England including UHCW which runs University Hospital in Walsgrave, Coventry, and St Cross Hospital in Rugby.
The NHS releases every summer its Summary Hospital-level Mortality Indicator (SHMI) data for the previous year.
It covers patients in England who died while either in hospitals or within 30 days of being discharged.
The NHS estimated there would only be 2,660 expected deaths at UHCW trust, but 2,979 people died.
Only 210 people were expected to die of septicaemia (sepsis) but 302 ended up dying.
More than double the expected number of deaths occurred as a result of a traumatic brain injury – 68 in total.
It was also just over double for nervous system disorders.
A spokesperson from the trust said: “At UHCW, all mortality data is reviewed every two weeks and reported to trust board.
“We are compliant with the guidance ‘learning from deaths’.
“We have a robust action plan to address our mortality data.
“We are working collaboratively with our primary care partners and are part of the West Midlands concordat.”
Of the 134 hospital trusts covered, 294,000 excess deaths were recorded.
The NHS says the SHMI is not a direct measure of quality of care.
The NHS states a higher than expected number of deaths should be viewed by trusts as a ‘smoke alarm’ which requires further investigation.
