Canadian Hospital Mortality rates

Other than the National papers the local community papers did not publish all of the information released by the The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) . This is an article I wrote on this subject on December 7, 2007 and was not published???

November 30, 2007 the CIHI released a report covering a list of mortality rates to the public involving 85 large Canadian Acute Care Hospitals and 42 Health Regions. For years hospitals have know the death rates but did not make them public. The rates should be released as the taxpayers are allowed to know them per CIHI. The following is an exert from the CIHI report

Canada;s Best and Worst

The hospitals as listed excluding Palliative care had mortality rates that ranked at the top-and-bottom- of the pack nationally in CIHI survey of hospital deaths in 85 larger acute hospitals and 42 Health Regions across Canada excluding Quebec;

TOP FIVE

The Moncton Hospital N.B. 56

Foothills Medical Centre Calgary 61

Regina General Hospital 71

Peter Lougheed Centre Calgary 73

Saint John Regional Hospital Saint John N.B. 74

BOTTOM FIVE

Grand River Hospital K.W. Health Centre K.W. Ontario 142

Niagara Health Centre St. Catharine's General Site St. Catharines, Ontario 135

The Scarborough Hospital General Site Toronto, Ontario 134

Burnaby Hospital Burnaby B.C. 125

Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre Red Deer Alta 125

An interesting statistic states "Over the past three years- the period covered by the new data--more than 254,000 patients died in Canadian Hospitals outside Quebec

I was in touch with CIHI this past week to see if I could obtain Welland hospital figures, the reply" Because the Welland Hospital did not have at least 2500 qualifying cases during each of of the years in the study period it is only included in the Regional results, not the individual results. Due to its lower volume the results for it individually would not be statistically precise."

I am sure if one were to ask the Welland Hospital for the mortality rate it would be supplied as it is classed as public information.

Writers comment:

I am shocked at the response stating Welland

did not qualify as Welland Hospital did not have at least 2500 cases.

Are there bench marks and brownie points if one reaches 2500 or more to get on the list good or bad?????