Dutch hospitals have agreed to publish the mortality rates of their patients.

Speaking to the daily Nederlands Dagblad the director of the Netherlands' Hospitals Association (NVZ), Gita Gallé, said that the decision was prompted by "the explicit wish of society to be able to consult those figures".

Hospitals are keeping records of the number of people dying after admission, but these figures were kept private, as a spokesperson for the association explained, "because people can draw the wrong conclusions." One hospital may have a higher mortality rate than another. "But maybe the first hospital is accepting more older patients, or is carrying out more complicated operations."

The figures will be made public from mid-2010. The number of patients dying while in hospital will be presented in relation to the total number of admissions. By 2011, when a new registering system kicks in, other factors will be included into the equation, comparing hospital mortality to average mortality for given age ranges and types of disease. More details will be released on Friday.

Health Minister Ab Klink is quoted in the press as applauding the plan. Patients' interest groups, doctors, the media and the Dutch lower house have been urging publication of the figures for years.

In other countries it is customary for patients to be able to compare hospital mortality rates. Many hospitals with initial poor scores managed to improve their performance and lower the number of patients that died.

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