Scotland reduces hospital mortality rate by over 10%, credits patient safety program

Figures from the country’s Hospital Standardised Mortality Ratios (HSMR) show there were 7,800 fewer than expected deaths between the first three months of 2014 and the third quarter of 2017. The drop in the the figures since 2014 represents a 10.6% decrease overall and means a Scottish government target to cut the mortality rate by 10% between 2014 and 2018 was met ahead of schedule. The country’s health secretary credited the reduction to the Scottish Patient Safety Programme, a drive to improve the safety and reliability of hospital care. Some main points from the HSMR report include:

• Emergency or unplanned medical admissions consistently account for the largest proportion of deaths within 30-days of admission; and
• Patients from the least deprived areas of Scotland consistently have lower levels of crude 30-day mortality than patients from more deprived areas.