Hospitals must reveal performance

Patients should be told how clean each hospital is

Hospitals must be put under pressure to provide more detailed performance data to patients, regulators have been told.

The Healthcare Commission should force private hospitals to publish data on cleanliness and staff performance, for example.

This call by insurer Standard Life Healthcare was echoed by the Patients Association for NHS hospitals too.

Since January, freedom of information rules give a general right of access to records held by public authorities.

Track record

But the Patients Association said people often have to dig around to get the information they want to make a choice about where they have treatment.

We need more detail Simon Williams of the Patients Association

The Healthcare Commission has been reviewing the way it assesses private and NHS hospitals and has welcomed suggestions from interested parties.

It is expected to announce the changes in the Spring.

Standard Life has recommended to the commission that it force private hospitals to provide more detailed information on cleanliness, infection rates, treatment outcomes, staff performance and patient satisfaction.

A spokeswoman from the commission said these were good contributions to the debate, but added that some of the information was already gathered.

The commission does annual checks to ensure private hospitals meet set government standards, which includes an infection risk assessment.

Standard Life's data wish list Cleanliness Infection rates Success of specific treatments Hospital track record Individual consultants' performance Patient satisfaction rates

Cleanliness would only be flagged up if a problem was found and information on the success rates of different treatments and consultants and patient satisfaction is not collected, she said.

"We are assessing the submissions of all those who have put in views and we plan to report back shortly."

She said some of this information might be available from individual hospitals.

More detail

But Simon Williams, director of policy at the Patients Association, said: "You would have to ferret around to find it.

"The NHS needs to be a lot more proactive and open about providing information."

He said hospital star ratings were helpful, but that they only gave a broad idea of what individual hospital trusts were like.

"We need more detail."

He said hospital websites would be the ideal place to make public data on things like staff performance, and praised St George's Hospital in London for publishing mortality information for its individual heart surgeons.

"Information needs to be made available to patients in an understandable, accurate and meaningful way.

"We all want to be confident that we receive the best treatment and care, but very often have little information available to us.

"More often than not we have more information on the performance of washing machines or cars than we do about healthcare."