A new report shows a patients chances of surviving a heart attack can vary significantly depending on their hospital – with figures showing Letterkenny Hospital is above the average death rate.
The figures were released in the annual report of the National Healthcare Quality Reporting System
One of the first thing that immediately jumps out at you from the publication is the fact that a number of hospitals across Ireland are ranked with much higher mortality rates for heart attack victims than the national average of 5.29 deaths per 100 patients.
Sligo University Hospital has one of the lowest rates at 2.64, only Our Lady’s Hospital Navan is lower with 1.56.
Letterkenny University Hospital is above average with a death rate of 5.80 per 100 patients.
Those with the highest death rates within 30 days of admission include Bantry General (8.93), Portiuncula Hospital (8.53), and University Hospital Kerry (7.21).
The statistics were compiled between 2016 and 2018.
The authors of the report claim there may be several reasons for the differences between hospitals.
These include the access to care the patient had before admission to hospital, their overall health, transfer patterns between hospitals and inconsistences in the data.
But the report does conclude that the higher than average mortality rates in certain hospitals do require further investigation.
