title: League tables.
abstract: Each year a new set of hospital league tables features briefly in the press, and on TV and radio stations. Local newspapers carry articles praising or berating their local hospitals to a bemused and mystified public. How seriously should we take this annual ritual? Where do the figures come from and what do they mean?
authors.affiliation: University of York.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bagust
mesh_terms: D006296:Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health / Q000592:standards; D006113:United Kingdom