GeraClinic / Hospital Mortality Index / County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust — hospital mortality (SHMI)
The NHS Summary Hospital-level Mortality Indicator (SHMI) for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust for November 2024 to October 2025: a SHMI of 1.288 (index 128.8), banded higher than expected by NHS England.
What is the hospital mortality (SHMI) for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust?
For November 2024 to October 2025, County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust had an NHS SHMI of 1.288 (Gera Hospital Mortality Index 128.8), banded "higher than expected": 3,320 deaths observed against 2,575 expected — 28.8% above the national expectation. This is real NHS open data and a "smoke alarm", not a measure of care quality.
What “higher than expected” means here
The number of deaths was higher than expected given the patients treated. NHS England treats this as a "smoke alarm" for further investigation, not as evidence of poor care.
The SHMI is NOT a measure of quality of care. NHS England is explicit that a higher-than-expected SHMI should be treated as a "smoke alarm" — a prompt to investigate, not evidence of poor care — and that an "as expected" or "lower than expected" value should not be read as proof of good care. Many factors outside a hospital’s control (local population health, the prevalence of palliative-care coding, deaths in hospices) affect the figure.
An index of 128.8 means County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust was 28.8% above the national expectation for this period. The index is the official SHMI (1.288) multiplied by 100; every figure is the real published NHS number, and the method is set out in the methodology.
SHMI value
1.288
Higher than expected
Mortality Index
128.8
baseline 100
Observed deaths
3,320
in hospital / within 30 days
Expected deaths
2,575
modelled by the NHS
Difference
+745
observed − expected
Discharges
67,380
finished provider spells
vs expectation
28.8% above
relative to England
NHS banding
Band 1
Higher than expected
In plain English
Over November 2024 to October 2025, County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust recorded 3,320 deaths in hospital or within 30 days of discharge, against 2,575 the NHS model expected given the patients it treated across 67,380 completed stays. That is 745 more deaths than expected — a SHMI of 1.288, which the NHS bands as higher than expected. Because the expected figure already adjusts for how sick and how old the patients were, the comparison is with what would be typical for a similar case mix in England — but it still does not measure the quality or safety of care.
County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust: mortality (SHMI) FAQs
- What is the SHMI for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust?
- For November 2024 to October 2025, the SHMI for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust was 1.288 (Gera Hospital Mortality Index 128.8), banded "higher than expected" by NHS England. There were 3,320 observed deaths against 2,575 expected — 745 more deaths than expected, or 28.8% above the national expectation. This is the real published NHS figure, not a measure of care quality.
- Does County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust's SHMI mean its care is poor?
- No. NHS England is explicit that the SHMI is not a measure of quality of care. A higher-than-expected value is a "smoke alarm" that warrants investigation, not proof of poor care. Local population health and how palliative care is coded also affect the figure. Use it to ask informed questions, not as a verdict.
- How many patients does County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust treat?
- In the November 2024 to October 2025 SHMI period, County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust had 67,380 finished provider spells (roughly, completed hospital stays), from which the SHMI counts deaths in hospital or within 30 days of discharge. The expected-deaths figure (2,575) is modelled by the NHS from the characteristics of those patients.
See every trust and how to read the numbers
County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust is one of 118 acute NHS trusts in the SHMI. Compare it against the full sourced table, and read the methodology before drawing any conclusion.
Other trusts
Source
Every figure for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust on this page is the real published NHS SHMI value; the Gera Hospital Mortality Index is the official SHMI multiplied by 100 and no trust is re-banded. Full method on the methodology page.
Contains public sector information published by NHS England and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Summary Hospital-level Mortality Indicator (SHMI) — Deaths associated with hospitalisation, England, November 2024 - October 2025 (November 2024 to October 2025, published 12 March 2026).
Contains public sector information published by NHS England and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Underlying data: SHMI — Deaths associated with hospitalisation, England, November 2024 – October 2025. NHS methodology: About the SHMI.
GeraClinic is a private telemedicine service and is not part of, or affiliated with, the NHS, and has no connection to County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust. This page presents open NHS data for information only; it is not clinical advice and not a measure of the quality or safety of care.