A NEW report has revealed the death rate at Paisley’s main hospital is “significantly higher” than the national average.

The Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH) is one of just two in Scotland to be ‘red flagged’ over their mortality statistics between April and June this year.

It is the second quarter in a row that the RAH and the Vale of Leven Hospital, in West Dunbartonshire, have posted higher-than-average mortality rates.

However, bosses at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) said problems with data gathering had skewed previous results at the Vale of Leven – and there may be a similar issue with the RAH.

The figures, compiled by ISD Scotland, use a measure known as the Hospital Standardised Mortality Ratio (HSMR) to evaluate anomalies in the number of “predicted” patient deaths.

A spokeswoman for NHSGGC said it remains confident in the standards of care at the RAH.

However, she added: “As HSMR figures there remain higher than expected, we are continuing to work with the clinical and managerial teams to identify factors that might be having a bearing on the HSMR figures.”