Professor Sir Bruce Keogh today announced the members of the National Advisory Group which will guide his review into 14 hospitals which have had higher than expected mortality rates.

The group will guide the overall review process and advise on how to ensure a robust and consistent approach is taken to conducting the individual investigations.

The members are, in alphabetical order:

• David Behan – Chief Executive, Care Quality Commission
• Professor Nick Black – Professor of Health Services Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Chair, National Clinical Audit Advisory Group
• Jane Cummings – Chief Nursing Officer for England
• Ian Dalton – Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief Executive, NHS Commissioning Board
• Professor Lord Darzi – Paul Hamlyn Chair of Surgery, Imperial College London
• Mike Farrar – Chief Executive, NHS Confederation
• Dr Paul Husselbee – Accountable Officer, Southend Clinical Commissioning Group
• Professor Sir Brian Jarman – Director, Dr Foster Intelligence Unit
• Tim Kelsey – National Director, Patients and Information, NHS Commissioning Board
• Sir Ian Kennedy QC – Chair, Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
• Professor Sir Bruce Keogh (Chair) – NHS Medical Director for England
• Dame Julie Mellor – Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman
• Dr Kathy McLean – Medical Director, NHS Trust Development Authority
• Sir Jonathan Michael – Chief Executive, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust
• Katherine Murphy – Chief Executive, The Patients Association
• Dr Katherine Rake – Chief Executive, Healthwatch England
• Professor Elizabeth Robb – Chief Executive, Florence Nightingale Foundation
• Jeremy Taylor – Chief Executive, National Voices
• Stephen Thornton – Non Executive Director, Monitor and Chief Executive, Health Foundation
• Professor Terence Stephenson – Chair, Academy of Medical Royal Colleges
• Dr Paul Watson – Regional Director, Midlands and East, NHS Commissioning Board
• Professor Chris Welsh – Director of Education and Quality, Health Education England

The group consists of prominent leading clinicians, patient representative groups, NHS managers and representatives from regulatory bodies.

Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS Medical Director and National Medical Director at the NHS Commissioning Board, who is leading the review, said:

“I am delighted we have been able to assemble this group to steer the overall review process.

“The team represents a mix of leading experts which will lend rigour and scrutiny to the review which will enable us to get the best results.

“These investigations are an opportunity to take a good look into some of our hospitals which for one reason or another are persistent outliers on mortality indicators. I want to assure patients, the public and Parliament that these hospitals understand why they have a higher than expected mortality rate and that appropriate action is being taken.”

The investigation will seek to determine whether there are any sustained failings in quality of care and treatment being provided to patients and to identify whether existing action to improve quality is adequate. It will also seek to identify whether any additional external support should be made available to these Trusts to help them improve.