Dr Foster health & medical guides
Take control of your health
Dr Foster is the UK's leading provider of comparative information on health and social care services.
Dr Foster's online tools and consumer guides enable both health and social care users and providers to make better informed decisions.
Dr Foster produces unique consumer guides to health services, the first of which was published in 2001 - the first time that comparative adjusted death rates for all NHS hospital trusts had ever been published.
Our annual report summarizes our key findings, it is known as the Hospital Guide and can be downloaded below.
Finally, we have selected a variety of common procedures where patients can choose where they would like to be treated, and presented some information on every unit. To access this, use the Find a hospital link.
The data on this site updates monthly, for reminders and other helpful information 
The 2011 Dr Foster Hospital Guide
Dr Foster was set up to empower patients and improve transparency in healthcare which is why we produce the Dr Foster Hospital Guide, an annual publication for consumers, clinicians, managers and organisations.
This year the Hospital Guide explores a range of issues, including: 24/7 care across the NHS including weekend working, best practice in stroke care and orthopedics, patient safety and we look across four indicators of mortality including deaths whilst in hospital care (HSMR) and deaths following hospital treatment; the Government backed SHMI. Download the Guide (1.6MB pdf).
You can also view the full methododology for the guide at the following link: Hospital Guide Methodology
Reducing mortality at nights and weekends
Your chances of surviving hospital treatment depend not just on where you are treated but also when
Patients admitted as an emergency at weekends are significantly more likely to die. The hospitals with the fewest senior doctors available at weekend have the highest mortality rates.
Download the analysis carried out by Dr Foster into weekend staffing and geriatric nursing from the following link: Staffing Figures V1.6(0.4MB XLS).
Trusts Of The Year
Dr Foster has announced its Trusts of the year for 2011
Dr Foster has created a list of key indicators for all Acute Trusts in England using measures we feel are important to patients. The Trusts of the year are:
- Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust
- University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
In addition, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is the only trust that is low on all four mortality measures.