Concern over death rates at hospital

York District Hospital and the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS trust came under scrutiny over higher-than-expected deaths in hospital and within 30 days of discharge in new NHS ratings published in October.

But latest analysis over the 12 months to June raises concerns in the region only at the Hull and East Yorkshire trust, where there were 480 excess deaths. It was among 11 trusts in England with higher death rates than expected. Hospitals in Sheffield recorded 530 fewer deaths than expected.

The Hull trust said its position had improved and work was underway. A spokesman said: “This includes monitoring every doctor’s performance on a monthly basis, working with primary care trusts and local authorities to improve community care for dying patients and ensuring that patients present to their GPs as early as possible when they are ill.”