There are some questions you may want to ask about the hospital whatever the treatment. You’ll obviously want to consider which hospitals are nearest to you, whether you know them and what the waiting times are like. Your doctor should be able to help you through these subjects.

If you want to know more about what other people think of different hospitals, then a national patient satisfaction survey conducted by MORI is a good resource. The results can be accessed at the website of the Commission for Health Improvement, www.chi.gov.uk/eng/surveys/nps.shtml#02.

There is also a range of more technical information available that may help you make your choice. Below are questions that, given the research evidence, Dr Foster believes are the most important when choosing a hospital.

How hospitals up and down the country rate on these questions can be found by going to the Dr Foster Good Hospital Guide.

What is the hospital’s mortality index? This indicates whether the number of patients who died at the hospital is higher or lower than expected. A rate more than 100 means that more patients have died there than might have been predicted.

What is the hospital’s record on patient safety? Each hospital has a safety rating reflecting how well it keeps to national risk management standards set down for hospitals.

Does the hospital have service and quality awards? All NHS and private hospitals are assessed for quality. To qualify for an award, they have to meet specific service-standard criteria.

If you are having private surgery, are the premises registered with the Healthcare Commission? If they are they will be inspected regularly to meet national standards. Go to www.healthcarecommission.org.uk to see if the clinic you are considering is listed.

Who is the anaesthetist and what is his or her experience? If your surgery entails a general anaesthetic, your life is in the anaesthetist’s hands, even if the procedure is routine.

Are there intensive-care facilities? In the unlikely event that things go wrong, you may need access to good intensive-care facilities.

How clean is the hospital? The national patient survey (www.chi.gov.uk/eng/surveys/nps.shtml#02) provides information on how people rate specific hospitals for cleanliness. Only half of the toilets in outpatient departments were rated as “very clean”.

NEXT WEEK: Body Active: What you need to know about treatment for your joints, hearts and sexual health.

Explore Health

• Expert Advice

• Health Features

• Mental Health

• Alternative Medicine

• Child Health