Dr Foster publishes guides aimed at keeping people informed about health and social care performance

Dr Foster is an National Health Service (NHS) partner organisation that collates and analyses healthcare data. Its research for 2009 found that 12 trusts significantly underperformed whilst seven trusts were not compliant with National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) alerts.

The research also found medical negligence instances where at least 209 foreign objects were left behind inside patients after surgery and there were 82 instances of 'wrong-site' surgery, in other words surgeons operating on the wrong body part.

It also found that over 5,000 people died after being admitted for low-risk conditions and of that figure 848 were under the age of 65.

The worst performers, according to the research were Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Healthcare NHS Trust and Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust.

Those having the highest mortality rates were Basildon and Thurrock once again, Royal Bolton Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester.

The Dr Foster research came just a month after a report by the Care Quality Commission in which its chief executive warned that failing trusts would be hit by a range of sanctions including fines, suspension of services and even prosecution.

The Care Quality Commission, which came into existence last year, replacing the Healthcare Commission, the Commission for Social Care Inspection and the Mental Health Act Commission, found in its survey that almost a half of hospitals were failing to meet the core standards of care.