A new report shows Stepping Hill Hospital is one of the safest in the country for emergency abdominal surgery.
The 9th annual National Emergency Laparotomy Audit (NELA) report has been published nationally which looks independently at the outcomes from major emergency abdominal surgery for every hospital in the country.
It shows Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, as being in the top three acute trusts in the country, and the top in Greater Manchester, in terms of survival rates for emergency laparotomies during the year 2022/23.
The report also shows its mortality rate (chance of dying) is less than half the national average. In effect this means 12 more people surviving than the national average.
An emergency laparotomy is an operation carried out for some of the sickest patients in the NHS who have suffered major abdominal problems, and need surgery to survive. Common examples of this include obstruction (blockages of the intestine) and perforations (a hole in the intestine). Stepping Hill Hospital carried out 172 of these operations during the year.
Care for patients with these serious conditions involves close co-operation and team-working from many staff at the hospital, not just from the surgical theatre teams, but also from the emergency department (A&E), critical care, surgical wards, radiology, and lab teams as well.
Ed Clark, bowel cancer consultant surgeon at Stepping Hill Hospital said, “Everyone in our surgical department is really pleased that the latest NELA report confirms we have very high standards for safety with our abdominal surgery. This is down to the hard work of all the dedicated healthcare staff doing their best for the people of Stockport and the High Peak.”