And a thought-provoking evening was had by all…
On Tuesday 29th January, around 70 colleagues from across the local health community and the OU gathered to hear a stimulating lecture entitled ‘An exploration of standardised hospital mortality rates’ presented by Nick Black, Professor of Health Services Research at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and joint editor of the Journal of Health Services Research and Policy.
Professor Tim Blackman, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, Scholarship and Quality, welcomed colleagues to the OU for this collaborative event between Milton Keynes Hospital and the Faculty of Health and Social Care. David Wakefield, Chairman of Milton Keynes Hospital, introduced Professor Black who was returning to the OU, having worked on the OU’s award-winning Health and Disease (U205) module in the 1980s.
In the course of 40 minutes, Nick presented an expert demolition of the use of standardised hospital mortality rates as meaningful indicators of the quality of a hospital. A lively question and answer session followed, and the evening ended with an opportunity to network over a glass of wine.