The First of the Performance Data for Surgeons is Published Today

The first of the new performance data for individual surgeons in England is being released today in a historic moment for the NHS. Vascular surgeons have become the first group of nine specialities to publish the information, including death rates and length of stay in hospital after a procedure. 

This data will appear on the NHS Choices website later. The data on the other groups will follow over the next few months. 

Just six out of nearly 500 vascular surgeons, who specialise in procedures on the arteries and veins, including stents, have opted out. They were able to do this because of data protection laws, although earlier this month Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned that those refusing to take part would be publicly named.

The move to publish this data is being viewed as a significant milestone within the NHS. Previously, individual performance data has only been published for heart surgeons. 

But some doctors have been concerned about widening publication of data for eight surgical specialties and cardiology, as there is a fear that it may give a misleading impression. Those doctors who take on the most difficult and complex cases may appear to be performing badly, when in fact they could be the leading specialists in their field.

Those at the Royal College of Surgeons see this move as the beginning of a new era for openness in medicine.

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Image: Spit-Fire, Flickr

Source: BBC News