A regional heart unit has published information about the 'death rates' of individual surgeons for the first time.

The move, by bosses at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, follows a request by a national newspaper under the Freedom Of Information Act.

It means that patients about to under-go heart surgery at the Teesside hospital can check the track record of all five surgeons on the trust's website.

Officials at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, the region's other main heart unit, said they have responded to the request but have no plans to publish the information on their website.

The statistics make reassuring reading for would-be heart patients from Teesside, South Durham and North Yorkshire.

All of the James Cook heart surgeons have low death rates for their operations, well under the mortality rate predicted by a system called EuroScore.

For patients undergoing their first coronary artery bypass at James Cook the death rate varies from less than one per cent (Andrew Owens) to less than two per cent (John Wallis).

For patient having their first aortic heart valve replacement the death rate varies from zero to just under six per cent (Graham Morritt). Dr Jim Hall, chief of cardiothoracic services at James Cook, said it was important to bear in mind that some surgeons may have higher death rates because they take on more challenging, more risky cases.

"For example some patients are at greater risk of dying than others. They may have other underlying medical conditions such as kidney failure which would make a heart operation more risky," said Dr Hall.

"Surgeons who operate on these patients would be expected to have a higher mortality rate than those who don't operate on such cases," he added.

Dr Hall warned that the publication of death rate league tables for individuals could lead to surgeons adopting "risk averse behaviour!" and refusing to take on complex, risky cases.

"We know that if you live in New York state and you want to have a high risk heart operation you have to travel to Canada to get it. We are very keen to avoid that happening here," he added.

The Department of Health has said it plans to publish mortality rates for individual heart surgeons.

*To check the figures go to www.southtees.nhs.uk/default.asp?page=clinicoutcomes.