Harris welcomes good news for Oxford Radcliffe heart unit

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 27th Mar 2007

Commenting on the report into adult cardiac surgery in Oxford published by the Healthcare Commission today, Dr Evan Harris, Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, said,

"This report is good news for Oxfordshire patients, who may have been worried by previous inaccurate reports of outcomes following surgery, because it shows that on average patients do no worse than elsewhere in the country."

The Healthcare Commission undertook a review of adult cardiac surgery at the Oxford Radcliffe following concern over higher than expected rates of mortality. This review looked at more comprehensive data and concluded that mortality units at the Oxford Radcliffe heart unit are within acceptable limits, but improvements are still needed, particularly to analyse the causes of high mortality rates when they do occur.

"It is disappointing that so long after the first reports of problems at the heart unit, there is still significant room for improvement in management systems and managing risks properly and I hope that the hospital and the consultants will put in place the necessary changes."

"I support the hospital, however, in their insistence that they should be measured by data that takes account of the true picture of the patients they treat instead of misleadingly simplistic league tables which have once again been shown to be wrong."

"The staff at the unit deserve the support of local people for the improvements that have been put in place, at what could and should be a world-leading centre"