Dr Foster Hospital Guide: highs and lows

The Dr Foster Hospital Guide is published annually, bringing together detailed information from hospital Trusts across the country and analysing the data to offer an independent view about where healthcare is working well and where more efforts are required. The guide works on the premise that delivering good healthcare means measuring performance and being transparent about that measurement. Since the first guide was first published 10 years ago, hospital mortality ratios have narrowed and there is a greater focus on improving clinical outcomes and safety. “Unfortunately”, says Roger Taylor, co-founder of Dr Foster, “there is more work to be done, as a third of patients still say they are not sufficiently involved in decisions about their care and they still find it difficult to find out about the treatment options available and the standards of care that they can expect.”

Stroke

Stroke is the UKs third biggest killer, with around 110,000 stokes every year. Almost one third of patients who have a stroke will die from it. Those who survive often have permanent disabilites.1 The National Audit Office (NAO) has already highlighted the marked variation in standards of care for stroke patients, in 2005 and again in 2010.2 The NAO has estimated that the direct cost of caring for people who have a stroke is £3 billion a year,3 making this an important area which could benefit from improved service and outcomes for patients, where possible. The scale of the problem was recognised in the Department of Health’s 2007 Stroke Strategy, and it set out to make improvements a priority.4