TWO North-East hospital trusts have been named on a list of centres which have higher than expected death rates.

The names of North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust and the City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust appear on a list of nine NHS hospital trust which have a higher than expected summary hospital-level mortality indicator, or SHMI.

The statistics, for the period which elapsed between July 2013 and June 2014, compares the actual number of patients who die following hospitalisation at a particular trust with the number that would be expected to die, based on average England figures.

Fifteen NHS trusts in England – all in the London area – have been categorised as having a ‘lower than expected’ mortality ratio according to a new report published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC). The report also shows that 113 NHS hospital trusts had an 'as expected’ SHMI.

Director of nursing, patient safety and quality for the North Tees and Hartlepool trust, Cath Siddle, said: “While our crude mortality is showing a trend of decreasing, the adjusted figures from HSCIC are rising which is a concern to us.

“We are working in a number of areas to understand why this is and our senior doctors, nurses and managers are taking a particularly close look at the care of people who are most seriously ill with conditions such as pneumonia to ensure that the best and most appropriate care is given.”

A spokesman for the City Hospitals Sunderland trust said: “SHMIs relating to individual trusts must take into account the levels of deprivation and ill-health in any area and compare like with like.

“We deal with widespread serious ill-health in Sunderland, relating to its industrial past, loss of jobs and unemployment - associated conditions such as lung disease and numerous illnesses as a result of smoking, alcohol and lack of exercise, inevitably mean the challenge for our trust and our staff, is a highly demanding one.”