A latest study shows that the survival rate for bowel cancer surgery varies widely between hospitals. It is the first time the number of people dying within 30 days of an operation has been reported across England for any cancer.
Overall, 6.7 percent of people died after surgery, but some hospitals had much higher mortality rates, according to a report in the journal Gut.
Cancer Research UK said the situation was “worrying”.
Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in the UK.
The outcomes of all 160,920 people who had surgery to remove a tumour between 1998 and 2006 were analysed.
The overall mortality rate in that period dropped from 6.8 percent to 5.8 percent.
Looking at data for the last three years of the study, five hospital trusts had significantly higher death rates and three had significantly lower ones.
The proportion of patients dying within a month of surgery ranged from 15.6 percent at Burton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to 1.7 percent at Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Preliminary data suggests the five hospitals which appeared to perform poorly had all improved by 2008, by when they all had achieved mortality rates close to the average.
Consultant surgeon at Burton Hospitals Trust, James Eccersley, said: “The Trust is aware that constant vigilance and improvement has reduced our mortality rate after surgery. We always strive to take on board new innovations to make surgery even safer.”
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