Richmond Hospital performed below average in some key areas of health care, according to a new online tool that allows British Columbians to view the track records of 68 hospitals in this province.
For the first time, the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) has created a database that shows how hospitals across the country measure up to other hospitals of the same size.
In one portion of the lengthy report, CIHI compared how hospitals performed in seven areas: readmission for further care after treatment for both heart attacks and strokes; mortality rates after heart attacks and strokes; readmission after hip and knee surgeries; and mortality after major surgery.
Besides Richmond, Prince George, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Langley and Peace Arch hospitals, which comprise almost half of the province's large hospitals, performed below average in at least four of CIHI's seven categories.
In the four categories in which Richmond Hospital was deemed to perform below average (stroke readmission and mortality, and readmissions after hip and knee replacements), Vancouver Coastal Health argued the number of procedures done are too small to provide meaningful data, said spokeswoman Trudi Beutel.
That is because Richmond sends stroke victims to Vancouver General Hospital (VGH), and hip and knee surgeries to UBC hospital.
Despite Vancouver Coastal's dispute with some of the performance ratings in the report, it does consider the new tool useful.
"We take CIHI's reports very seriously. They help us improve care - quality of care and patient outcome," Beutel said.
Of the 22 medium-sized B.C. hospitals, CIHI found four performed below average in at least four of the seven post-treatment areas: Kootenay Boundary and East Kootenay, Dawson Creek and St. Joseph's.
The Ministry of Health will use CIHI's information "as a road map" for future hospital improvements, spokesman Ryan Jabs said.
"Patients should not be concerned about the treatment they receive at any hospital in British Columbia," Jabs said.
"While we recognize that it is a natural instinct to use this data for comparison, it is important to recognize that there are many factors that can affect these statistics - including socio-economic status, demographics and geographic location."
For other health authority comments, visit www.vancouversun.com.
