A SURVEY of the NHS has revealed that Bury's hospitals have one of the highest death rates in the country.

And according to the shock figures, Bury Health Care NHS Trust was the joint 14th worst authority for patient/doctor trust.

However, the report also noted that the local Trust had a good record on treating outpatients and on the referral of urgent breast cancer patients to specialists.

The study into the quality of healthcare provided by the 356 English NHS Trusts was undertaken by The Sunday Times and revealed huge variations across the country.

Factors blamed for the differences included the ratio of hospital staff to patients. Bury NHS Trust which has under its care Bury General Hospital and Fairfield Hospital has 22 doctors per 100 beds, ranking it ninth worst out of the 20 trusts with the fewest doctors. Other NHS trusts boast up to 63 doctors to every 100 beds.

The report highlighted a link between death rates and the number of doctors, arguing that the more doctors a hospital had the lower its death rates. Bury Health Care NHS Trust had the 18th worst mortality rates. And the death rate is 10 per cent above projections, worse than all but 19 English trusts. Their mortality index is 110 compared with an average North West mortality index of 103.

The index is calculated using the hospital standardised mortality ratio (HSMR). The national average would give an HSMR of 100. A higher figure, as in the case of Bury, indicates more deaths than would be expected.

A disturbing lack of patient confidence was also found: nationally 435 heart patients per English NHS Trust were asked: "Did you have confidence and trust in the hospital doctors who treated you?" 76 per cent of patients under the local Trust said yes compared to patients at Blackpool Victoria Hospital, which came top in the survey, where 94 per cent said they trusted their doctor.

The Trust did, however, perform well on waiting times. Only 14 Trusts see more out-patients within 13 weeks and all urgent breast cancer referrals see a specialist within two months.

But the proportion of hernia operations done in a day, with no overnight stay, is the third lowest in the England.

Mr Paul Reynolds, the chief officer of Bury Community Health Council, the Trust's watchdog body, told the Bury Times that the findings were "unacceptable" but "not surprising". But he said that the Trust had faced a number of severe financial constraints.

He said: "We have been pressing for more doctors and nurses for the past couple of years.

"We are addressing this unacceptable situation and have made the Secretary of State aware of the situation being faced by the local hospitals."

Bury Health Care NHS Trust was given a cash injection of more than £4 million last year.

"Hopefully the cash will start making a difference in the near future," added Mr Reynolds.

"We would reassure patients that we are aware of the situation and are continually putting pressure on the authorities to do something."

Although the findings revealed an alarming lack of confidence between patients and doctors, Mr Reynolds insisted that a vast majority of people do trust their doctors.

He said: "Obviously confidence is clearly shaken when something goes wrong but the vast majority trust their doctors."

Mr Philip Bacon, chief executive of Bury Health Care NHS Trust, added: "The Trust regards quality of patient care with utmost importance. It views the report in a positive way.

"However, it is a fact that, although progress needs to be made, a substantial number of improvements have been made since the findings of the report."

Mr Richard Popplewell, chief executive of Bury and Rochdale Health Authority, said: "Surveys such as these help to raise awareness of the variations that exist within the service. We will be be considering the implications this week."