The Sunday Times Good Hospital Guide provides a valuable insight into the postcode lottery of healthcare in the NHS.
A massive disparity between the mortality rate for Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust and the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust suggests that where you come can decide whether you live or die. It follows recent criticism of the basic standard of hygiene on the wards at Barnet by the borough's health watchdog.
It isn't all bad for Barnet and Chase Farm. The trust boasts 150 nurses per 100 beds, among the top ten in the country, and 99 per cent of urgent breast cancer referrals were seen within two weeks of GP referral. The guide also recognised that the multi-million pound redevelopment of Barnet Hospital would make it the most modern district general in the UK.
But these latest figures teach us a sobering lesson. No matter how many state-of-the-art machines we have, it is ultimately the skill of doctors and nurses that is most important in saving lives.
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