I refer to the letter Reveal mortality rates following angioplasty, bypasses by Dr Mohamed Ebrahim Sulaiman where he requests that mortality results in our hospitals be revealed following the death of a civil servant who recently underwent bypass surgery.

I am afraid results of this nature from the Ministry of Health may fall in the domain of the Official Secrets Act and to obtain these statistics from a private center may necessitate a court order.

However, I note that Dr Ebrahim has quoted the MASS II study as a reference for non-invasive therapy (presumably medical therapy) as an alternative to surgical interventions in coronary heart disease.

His frustration with procedure-related mortality may be understandable but I am afraid he has taken the results of the MASS II study out of context.