§ Mr. HobanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on post-operative death rates at the Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth. [129667]
§ Ms Rosie Winterton[holding answer 16 September 2003]: In the 2003 Performance Ratings, covering patients treated in the calendar year 2002, Portsmouth Hospitals national health service trust was assessed as having a 28 day post-surgical mortality rate that was not statistically different from the England average. In earlier years' performance assessments, Portsmouth has always done as well as or better than the England average.