article: Officials described the findings as a "fire alarm". But they warned that there are major problems with the way the data is collected. The statistics are part of a drive to make the NHS more transparent in the wake of the Stafford Hospital scandal. Neglect and abuse at Stafford Hospital led to hundreds of unnecessary deaths between 2005 and 2008 and prompted a public inquiry. While officials called the Risk Adjusted Mortality Index (Rami) a "fire alarm", they warned that problems gathering the data made it difficult to interpret the figures. Data is collected across the UK and a score of 100 is considered normal. When an NHS organisation scores more than 100 it could be an indicator that the number of patients who are dying is higher than should be expected. A Labour MP who is advising the prime minister on how the NHS handles complaints said she was shocked by the mortality rate at Wales' biggest hospital. In the most recent batch of data, the University Hospital of Wales (UHW) in Cardiff has the highest score of any Welsh hospital at 128. David Cameron appointed Ann Clwyd as an advisor after the Cynon Valley MP complained about the standard of care her husband Owen Roberts received before he died at UHW. Patients and their families had written to her about their experiences at the UHW and other hospitals, she said. She added: "I hope this will act as a warning signal to the Welsh government to check on the quality of care that is being offered to patients in these hospitals. "I am determined to find out the reason for the high death rate at UHW, especially as my husband is now one of these statistics." Dr Graham Shortland, medical director for Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, said: "We have confidence in our staff and the care and treatment they provide and we are reassured by what we are being told by other accepted systems and methods of reviewing quality and safety. "However, we are in no way complacent about this and work is already underway to further scrutinise this data and any link to the coding problems that we are currently tackling." A programme of detailed patient case-note reviews will be expanded, he said. Betsan Powys: RAMI: Ropey And Muddled Information? During the most recent period recorded, five out of six local health boards in Wales had scores higher than 100. However, officials warned that higher scores may be due to problems gathering data, rather than lapses in the quality of patient care. The Rami takes into account other factors about patients, including their underlying health, social factors and their lifestyles. The way the data is collected is known as coding. Welsh government officials say that coding in Welsh hospitals has not been as good as in the English NHS. Other annual adjustments to the index make it difficult to compare mortality rates from year to year. The Welsh government uses Rami scores as one way of measuring performance in the NHS. However, it says Rami cannot be
summary: Eleven out of 17 district general hospitals in Wales have higher death rates than should be expected, according to statistics published by the Welsh government.