HEALTH chiefs claim the figures for deaths after surgery in Chorley are misleading.

Government indicators for 2000-2001 show that Chorley and South Ribble and Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trusts are performing below the national average.

But a disappointed professor Peter Morgan-Capner, acting chief executive for the trusts, said: "We believe this grading does not reflect the range severity of the cases we treat in comparison with other smaller, less specialist trusts.

"As a regional centre for a number of specialist and complex services, such as cancer, neurosciences and burns, many patients admitted by us or transferred to us from other hospitals are acutely sick and in many cases terminally ill.

"Some of these patients have been admitted for minor procedures to make them more comfortable in their final days.

"Unfortunately, the indicators do not reflect the patient's poor condition or acknowledge that the risk of death following even a minor procedure is much greater for these patients than it would be for healthier patients.

"It is important that determining factors like this are taken into account when interpreting the indicators."

Government watchdogs have found the actual number of deaths at the two trusts to be significantly lower than the expected number based on the combined average for England 1998/99 and 1999/00.

The trusts' death rates have also been found to be the third lowest out of 28 trusts compared in the North West.

Prof Morgan-Capner said the trusts were pleased to have performed well against eight of the nine targets, in particular 'emergency readmission to hospital within 28 days of discharge' where their performance was judged better than the national average.