Surgeons who refuse to allow their performance data to be published in new league tables will be “named and shamed”, the Health Secretary said Friday.
Jeremy Hunt said every consultant should be “obliged” to disclose details including their patients’ death rates, despite data protection laws which give them the right to withhold the information.
His comments come after The Telegraph newspaper reported that doctors could use the Data Protection Act to opt out of government proposals to enable patients to compare results across England.
“Subject to proper risk adjustment of the data there can be no valid reason why it should not be published — and the majority of consultants strongly support the case for doing so,” said Hunt.
“In an era of public concern over patient safety issues at Mid Staffordshire Hospital (Trust), this will be a major step forward in restoring public confidence.”
It is understood that league tables based on 10 surgical specialities could be published as early as next week.
The move comes in the wake of a scandal at Stafford Hospital, where police are investigating up to 300 deaths which may have been caused by neglect.
Critics say it could lead to the poorest performing surgeons escaping recognition, while others would wrongly appear to be ranked bottom.
However The Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) said feedback from medics suggested few would opt out and insisted: “There is no attempt to hide poor performance.”
Its president, Professor Norman Williams, told BBC radio it was vital the figures reflected differences between types of surgery, which may vary from highly complex to more simple.
“As long as it (the data) is reliable and robust we have no problem in encouraging, and indeed wanting, all our members and fellows to publish that data,” he said.
“But I have to emphasise it’s very, very important, because the complexities of some of this work have to be recognised.”
An NHS England spokesman said the tables were widely supported by consultants and would herald a “new level of openness”.
“We urge all consultants to think very carefully about the effect on their patients and their colleagues if they choose to opt out on the basis of legislation designed to protect personal data,” the spokesman said.
Surgeons who refuse data publication 'will be named'
