Detailed data about the first four of the 14 hospitals involved in the Keogh Review into mortality rates have been made public.

Professor Sir Bruce Keogh’s national review team has analysed information from across the NHS about all of the 14 hospital trusts who were identified in February as having had higher-than-expected mortality rates for more than two years. This data has been used to develop the key lines of inquiry that are being explored by the regional Rapid Responsive Review teams, which began their site visits this week.

The data packs and key areas for investigation for Basildon and Thurrock NHS Foundation Trust, the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust, and Medway NHS Foundation Trust, have ben published on the Keogh Review pages of the NHS Choices website.

Sir Bruce, Medical Director of NHS England, has appealed for patients and staff to play their part by sharing their experiences of care in the hospitals under review, either in a series of “listening events” that are being held as part of each hospital’s Rapid Responsive Review or by e-mail, phone or post. Details of how you can get involved are available on the dedicated web pages.

He said: “I hope everyone, as a user or potential patient of the NHS and your local hospital, will get involved with my review of mortality rates.

“I am delighted that this data has been made public, because openness and transparency is vital to ensuring high-quality care in our hospitals. I hope patients and staff will take a good look at the information available. They are the people behind the data, and their views will be absolutely critical in helping our review teams get the complete picture of how each hospital operates.

“Publicly-available data is really important, but it is never the end of the story. None of the information published today can, in itself, tell us whether any hospital is doing anything wrong. The information acts as a warning light or smoke alarm – the review teams’ job is to investigate, diagnose whether there is a problem, and write the prescription for improvement wherever necessary.”

Review visits, which will each last two to three days, will be carried out at the remaining 10 Trusts in May and June, and similar data about these Trusts will be released in due course. Trusts will also receive an unannounced visit after their planned review visits.

Sir Bruce was asked personally by the Prime Minister to lead the review into 14 Hospital Trusts whose mortality ratios have shown higher-than-expected rates for the past two years, following the publication of the Francis Report into catastrophic failures at Mid-Staffordshire Hospitals.