The results of a national survey confirm the safe, high-quality care that the patients coming to Oxford Critical Care can expect to receive.
Oxford Critical Care, based on the John Radcliffe Hospital site in Oxford and part of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH), performed well in the recent Quarterly Quality Report (QQR) by the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre (ICNARC).
The report, which reviewed April – September 2023, showed that one particularly strong performance point was the ‘low risk-adjusted acute hospital mortality rate’, meaning that fewer patients died while receiving intensive care than would be expected from the severity of their illness.
The predicted rate is estimated by ICNARC by processing the data taken around the time of admission into the critical care unit. This data is then submitted to the ICNARC audit platform. The report showed that in quarter 1 the mortality rate was 5% lower than predicted, and 7% lower for quarter 2.
Julian Millo, Clinical Director for Critical Care at OUH, said: “This performance should be reassuring for patients who need critical care. It reflects the patient-focused care we provide, and the commitment to this from our critical care team.”
“Success like this is a reminder that critical care is for the most unwell patients, and ultimately good critical care can save lives. This achievement is a guiding light for Oxford Critical Care and inspires our teams to keep up the good work.”
Jody Ede, Clinical Academic Nurse Researcher in Oxford Critical Care, highlighted the importance of this performance indicator for critical care staff.
“We have recently recruited more staff to Oxford Critical Care, and these new people have been trained by the existing teams. This performance is a key indicator that we are moving forward in the right direction when it comes to training new recruits and making critical care a good place to work. As a team, it is a source of inspiration to aim for even better results.
“Working in critical care can be emotionally challenging – we care for the most seriously ill people, and we work hard to save lives. This report shows that the measures we have in place, and the care we provide, are of a high standard and our teams should be very proud of that.”
Dr Andrew Brent, Chief Medical Officer at OUH, said: “This is an excellent achievement for our critical care colleagues and I would like to congratulate them on their continued hard work. Critical care can often be one of the most demanding types of medical care. It is reassuring that measures such as low mortality rates demonstrate our team’s ongoing commitment to safe patient care.”