A HIGHER than expected number of patients died either in Worcestershire's hospitals or within a month of being discharged last year.

The latest figures show that Worcestershire Acute Hospital Trust is among the worst performing in the country for mortality.

An investigation has been launched into whether any of the deaths were avoidable and if all steps are being taken to prevent avoidable deaths.

Doctors were told the trust was in the bottom five per cent in the country at a meeting last week - although the figures are not intended to be used as a comparison between trusts.

Hospital bosses have stressed the figures, known as the Summary Hospital-Level Mortality Indicator rates (SHMI), do not necessarily mean standards of care are poor.

Instead, they are supposed to be used as a smoke alarm which should be investigated.

Dr Andrew Short, Interim Chief Medical Officer at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “A higher than expected number of deaths doesn’t necessarily mean a poor standard of care but acts as an early warning sign that further investigation is needed.

“There is, of course, a concern that in 2015 we were outside the expected range which is why we arranged a meeting last week with our consultant body so that we can understand what lies behind the figures and to investigate whether we have put the right actions in place to prevent any avoidable deaths.

"For those deaths which are expected, we will work hard to ensure that these do not happen in an acute hospital setting.

"To put the matter into context, the overall number of deaths in hospital continues to fall, and we know that for most people who are in their end of life stage, being able to die in their own homes is their preference.”

Worcester's MP Robin Walker said: "Of course it's a worry that mortality rates are higher than average.

"The hospital are taking the action of investigating these rates to check whether any of these excess deaths were preventable.

"But it's dangerous to read into one statistic that they are preventable. We don't know that.

"We know there are some big challenges at the hospital in terms of capacity.

"I want to see the capacity of the hospital extended.

"I think there's a big problem in the NHS around too many contract staff and not enough full time staff.

"I think there's a real recognition that full time staff are better, and cheaper."

Mr Walker said the hospital was already looking at its management and whether it could improve safety and pointed out that the number of deaths overall was falling.

He added: "The vast majority of my constituents acknowledge that the hospital staff are generally excellent and work really hard."

The SHMI figures are collected and published by The Health and Social Care Information Centre for 136 hospital trusts.