CHKS is a company that works with healthcare organisations, such as NHS hospitals, to help them understand how well they are performing so they can improve the care they provide.
From the start of the modern data collection in the early 1980s, individual organisations have not been able to tell how they compare to one another. Respective governments have made it clear that they are looking for help to provide this comparative information. We are a leading provider of this type of information across the whole of the UK.
Our starting point is data, which relies on how accurately treatment is recorded. Once we are happy that the data accurately reflects what is happening on the wards we can start to make comparisons.
Ultimately our goal is to help the NHS deliver safe, high quality care for all patients. We also work with international healthcare organisations and private healthcare providers.
We have answered some further questions below but if you would like an answer to a different question please email it to:
info@chks.co.uk
How do we help healthcare organisations improve the care they provide?
We help world-class organisations, such as the Christie Hospital in Manchester, understand where they can make improvements. We do this by comparing them with similar organisations using a number of different measures such as how long patients stay in hospital after treatment. For example, the average length of stay a patient having a hip operation is just over three days (varying with age). If a hospital has a higher length of stay for this type of operation it needs to understand why because it might mean the quality of care being provided needs to be improved. Other ways make comparisons are to look at the number of people getting infections (such as MRSA), the number of people who are re-admitted to hospital following a procedure and mortality rates.
Q. What are mortality rates?
A. One way of looking at the quality of care that is provided by a hospital is to find out how many people actually die there compared with how many people you might expect to die, given the severity of their illness. It is a complex calculation that takes into account age, sex and other factors. Of the people who die in hospital 95 per cent will have been admitted as an emergency. For more detailed discussion of mortality indicators see our paper on them
here.
Q. What information should I look at to see how my local hospital is performing?
A. It is best to look at a range of information including patient feedback – reports about the care that has come directly from people who have been treated there. Don’t always believe what you read in newspapers and online. You can find information about your local hospital on NHS Choices
www.nhs.uk
You may also be interested to read about some of the analysis we have done using healthcare data:
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The impact of hot weather on accident and emergency services
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Quality of hospital care for patients with dementia
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Differences in paracetamol prescribing around the country
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High admissions for head injuries in the North West
