This is the first publication of adult critical care data which forms part of Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) and is collected as part of the Critical Care Minimum Data Set (CCMDS). It covers critical care periods ending between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2009 and draws on records submitted by providers as an attachment to the inpatient record.
During the period covered by this report not all NHS trusts with critical care capacity have completed data submissions, so data quality and coverage is variable in some cases. Publishing the critical care HES data for the first time as experimental statistics allows for discussion, analysis and promotion of the data set, which in turn should lead to improved coverage and data quality.