CUH lung disease mortality rate was twice that in UK

The mortality rate among inpatients with a chronic lung disease at a Cork hospital was at one stage more than double the rate in Britain, according to figures presented by doctors petitioning for a new respiratory ward.

The patients, who were suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) — a progressive lung disease that makes it difficult to breathe — also spent, on average, three days longer in hospital than patients in Britain.

The figures, from 2007 audits, appear in a statement of need drawn up by doctors in support of an application for a 20-bed adult respiratory and cystic fibrosis (CF) ward at Cork University Hospital to replace the existing 11-bed unit. The statement was drawn up in Jan 2012.