Higher death rate in Cape Breton Regional Municipality hospitals

Each year, the independent body calculates the death rate of patients in hospitals across the country. Researchers use a formula that takes into account the clinical characteristics of patients, such as age and chronic disease.

<q data-attributes="{"lang":{"value":"fr","label":"Français"},"value":{"html":"Près de 50% more deaths occurred [dans les quatre hôpitaux de la Municipalité régionale du Cap-Breton] than one would expect with a statistical model “,” text “:” Almost 50% more deaths have occurred [dans les quatre hôpitaux de la Municipalité régionale du Cap-Breton] than what one would have expected with a statistical model “}}” lang = “fr”>Almost 50% more deaths have occurred [dans les quatre hôpitaux de la municipalité régionale du Cap-Breton] than what one would have expected with a statistical model, says Joseph Amuah, content manager forinformation sur la santé">ICISCanadian Institute for Health Information.

The second largest urban center in Nova Scotia has a regional hospital in Sydney and three community hospitals in Ice Bay, New Waterford and North Sydney.

126 “preventable” deaths

According to the formula used by theinformation sur la santé">ICISCanadian Institute for Health Information, a hospital that scores less than 100 has saved the lives of patients who were supposed to die, while a hospital that scores more than 100 has seen patients die while they were meant to live.

The national average is 95.

Hospitals in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality have a death rate of 143 for the past year, according to the health research organization. This therefore means that of the 420 patients who died in 2020 in hospitals in the Sydney region, 126 should not have died in principle.

Cape Breton hospitals have the worst death rate in the country for a third consecutive year.

The only other hospital in the Atlantic with a patient death rate above the national average is the Dr. Everett-Chalmers Regional Hospital in Fredericton, New Brunswick, with a score of 133.

However, according to Joseph Amuah, this data should not be taken in isolation and should not be used to compare one hospital to another.

Lack of resources, deplores the staff

In Cape Breton, the findings of theinformation sur la santé">ICISCanadian Institute for Health Information are nevertheless judged very worrying by hospital staff.