Position statement - hospital mortality rates_briefing_statement_transport

The Faculty of Public Health (FPH) is committed to ensuring that hospital care is safe, effective and provides the highest possible standard of clinical care. The first attempt to categorise hospitals by their mortality rates and make imputations about the quality of care delivered in them based on how many patients die, dates back to the seminal work of Florence Nightingale (best known for dramatically decreasing hospital deaths in the Crimea by improving sanitation) and the statistician William Farr. Together, they compiled the first ever ‘league table’ of hospital mortality rates in 1863. Their efforts were widely criticised at the time, and many of the problems with their methodology have never been satisfactorily resolved. It is essential to understand the controversies around hospital mortality data in order to prevent the significant harm that can come from their misuse.