Our quality story

Summary Hospital-level Mortality Indicator (SHMI) 

This is an indicator of healthcare quality that measures whether the number of deaths in hospital, or within 30 days of patients leaving hospital, is higher or lower than you would expect.

Like all statistical indicators it is not perfect, but can be both a measure of safe, high-quality care and a warning sign that things are going wrong.

What's the standard?

A score of 100 means that the number of deaths is similar to what you would expect. A higher score means more deaths; a lower score, fewer.

How are we doing?

Our recent performance:

• September 2019 – 72.2
• August – 71.3
• July – 70.7.

Our SHMI score is one of the lowest (a good thing) in the NHS.

Our SHMI is consistently good. This means that the emphasis we place on patient safety is helping us to provide good care and has a direct effect in helping to reduce avoidable deaths.

Care is needed when interpreting the SHMI score. It is best viewed alongside other measures – for example the Hospital Standardised Mortality Ratio – to see if there is a consistent picture.

How you can help us

Safety is our absolute priority. If you have any concerns, please raise them with the staff caring for you – just ask to speak to the person in charge, usually a senior nurse or doctor.

Find out more

For more information about the SHMI and what it means, see the NHS Digital website.

Got a question?

If you have a question about or comment on this information, please contact the communications team at communicationsteam@gstt.nhs.uk.