NHS hails 'major breakthrough' as surgeons' death rates revealed

Surgeons with the highest death rates have been named by the NHS in statistics, which show some doctors' mortality figures are 14 times the national average.

According to the Daily Telegraph, one surgeon's figures showed that nearly one in three patients they treated for a particular operation ended up dying.

The data has been published on the NHS website today and shows the rates of 450 surgeons who agreed to have their data made public - six doctors refused.

Initially only data for surgery on the heart, veins and arteries has been made available but the NHS will publish further statistics in the next few months.

Patients can see the number of times a consultant has done a procedure, their mortality rates and whether or not they are performing within the "expected range".

"Very few" medics have chosen not to be included in the national tables, NHS England said.

Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, medical director for NHS England, said the data was a "major breakthrough" in transparency for the health service and praised surgeons who agreed to have their statistics published. He said:

The six surgeons who opted out of publishing their information all performed within the "expected range", officials said.

Celebrating the move, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said:

Royal College of Surgeons president Professor Norman Williams added that it was a "historic moment" for surgery and that it was a "new era for openness" in medicine.