A HEALTH expert who called for the trust which runs Fairfield Hospital to be investigated over its high death rate, is to help bring about improvements.

Professor Brian Jarman last month called for the government to scrutinise the Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which also manages North Manchester, Rochdale Infirmary and Royal Oldham, and another 24 health trusts in the country, where he says more people than expected are dying.

Pennine Acute is one of seven North West health trusts which have formed a new working group to tackle the issue, working with Prof Jarman.

More people die at its Hospitals than expected, according to figures called the Hospital Standardised Mortality Ratio (HSMR).

The latest statistics give the trust a ratio of 110, against an average of 100, meaning 10 per cent more people died in 2008/9 than expected.

Prof Jarman, of Imperial College London, calculates the figures for Dr Foster, an organisation which provides information on hospitals.

However, he has admitted the figures do not tell the full story. The trust has said it has made improvements and questioned the methodology behind the statistics.

Prof Jarman said: “For the 25 hospitals, the problem is the way the Government monitors them. They basically self-report.

“I am saying, please look at them, it might be data coding or something else but it might be quality of care.”

Dr Ruth Jameson, medical director at the Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “The trust board monitors mortality on a monthly basis using CHKS methodology (an alternative tool to Dr Foster). Our standardised mortality index has been falling year on year, showing a steady improvement.

“The trust continues to work on reducing mortality.”

The new working group — called the North West Reducing Mortality Collaborative — is the idea of David Fillingham, chief executive of Royal Bolton Hospital.

He said: “We all, under Dr Foster figures, apparently have high mortality rates and we want to understand that.

“We are all doing work, making improvements, and it makes sense to work together and learn from each other and experts like Dr Jarman.

“There are a lot of North West trusts with high figures and I think there is an issue in the region which needs exploring.

“Prof Jarman says he allows for social deprivation, but the North West is one of the unhealthiest parts of the country so maybe the figures aren’t surprising.”

The first formal meeting will take place in May, with representatives of North West London Hospitals NHS Trust speaking about how they have improved death rates.