A HEART surgeon has been named as having death rates above the national average as part of a new NHS transparency drive.

Dr Jonathan Hyde, who works at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, was one of just three surgeons nationwide revealed as being outside the “expected range” of performance.

He has been identified as part of a new transparency drive in which the public can compare the performance of 5,000 surgeons.

Dr Hyde performed 506 operations between April 2010 and March 2013. Over that period he had a 6.63% mortality rate – which equates to about 33 of his patients dying in surgery or in the aftermath.

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals (BSUH) trust, which runs the hospital, carried out a review of Dr Hyde’s practice in September 2013 and his death rate has improved significantly since.

Dr Hyde, in a statement on the Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery website, said: “The data shown reflect higher mortality rates from my practice predominantly in the years 2011 and 2012 and therefore refer to outcomes from more than 18 months ago.

“In the light of these outcomes, I have reviewed my practice in detail with the support of an Individual Review from the Royal College of Surgeons. The mortality for my surgery for the period April 2013 to October 2014 has been 1.8%.”

Originally from London, Dr Hyde qualified in 1989 and has performed more than 2,500 major heart operations.

He lists his specialist interests as aortic surgery and minimally-invasive (keyhole) surgery. He has been described as one of the UK’s pioneers of the latter.

As well as the Royal Sussex, he also works in the private sector for Nuffield Health Hospital, in Woodingdean, and the Montefiore Hospital in Hove.

Dr Stephen Holmberg, medical director at BSUH, said: “We have a track record for accepting very high-risk patients including a significant number of patients with active endocarditis for whom even a high surgical risk is seen as offering a better outcome than medical management.

“Since the data was taken more than 18 months ago, the unit has reviewed many of its protocols and practices.

“The effectiveness of these changes is evidenced by unadjusted mortality rates for the unit in 2013 and 2014 of 2.6% and 1.8% respectively, which are within the expected rates.”

A Royal College of Surgeons spokeswoman confirmed they had inspected the trust’s cardiac surgical service in September 2013 and offered recommendations. They re-visited in June 2014 and made further recommendations.