Editor—When I was a student at Guy's Hospital in the 1930s Sir Arthur Hurst said that if he found he had carcinoma of the stomach he would choose to have the surgeon with the worst figures1—because that surgeon would have a go without worrying about his performance figures.
References
- 1.Lawrance RA, Dorsch MF, Sapsford RJ, Mackintosh AF, Greenwood DC, Jackson BM, et al. Use of cumulative mortality data in patients with acute myocardial infarction for early detection of variation in clinical practice: observational study. BMJ. 2001;323:324–327. doi: 10.1136/bmj.323.7308.324. . (11 August.) [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]