Report shows good patient safety

PATIENT safety in hospitals managed by the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust is good, according to a recent report.

In all nine highlighted categories by Dr Foster Intelligence - a public-private partnership - the Trust performed better than the national average.

These latest figures relate to patient safety at Lister, the QEII and Hertford County hospitals in 2005/6.

The number of patients with low-mortality illnesses who subsequently died was recorded as 14, which is less than the national average of 17.8.

Fifty-four patients developed pressure sores - a figure considerably lower than the target of 113.2.

Only one person had a foreign body left inside them after a procedure, compared to a national average of three.

Ten patients suffered post-operative sepsis - a serious medical condition resulting from the immune system's response to a severe infection - which is marginally better than the national average of 10.6.

Eighty women suffered obstetric trauma through vaginal delivery without an instrument, compared with a national average of 94.6.

Twenty women suffered obstetric trauma through vaginal delivery with an instrument, compared with a national average of 33.7.

And only two women suffered obstetric trauma through a caesarean section, compared with a national average of 3.4.

Nobody had a post-operative hip fracture, compared with a target of 1.1.

Of the infections selected for the investigation, only seven patients contracted an infection due to medical care. This compares with a target of 18.3.

Chief executive of the Trust, Nick Carver, said: "Overall the report makes welcome reading and provides our staff with data on which they can benchmark their performance - not just against other hospitals, but also their own performance over time.

"It should also give confidence to local people that the quality of care within the Trust continues to be good, although there will always be room for improvement.