A new report confirms Stepping Hill Hospital as one of the safest places in the country for major emergency abdominal surgery.

The 10th annual National Emergency Laparotomy Audit (NELA) report looks independently at the outcomes from major emergency abdominal surgery for each hospital in the country.

The audit shows Stepping Hill Hospital, as being one of the highest ranked in the whole of England and Wales for emergency laparotomies survival rates during the year 2023/24.

The report analyses results from hospitals undertaking more than ten cases per year. The trust has again achieved “double positive outlier status”, with 97.4% of patients surviving surgery.

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 151 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, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust Consultant Surgeon said; “Patient safety is one of our top priorities, and we’re all extremely happy these latest NELA results show we are leading the way once more in safety for abdominal surgery patients. We believe these results reflect the hard work and professionalism of all members of the team from the emergency department right through to discharge, with all of us working together for the best outcomes for our patients.”