Weekend death risk demands action, say medical chiefs

A study by the British Medical Journal has linked the ‘weekend effect’ to 11,000 excess deaths, raising challenging questions about the quality of hospital care at weekends.

The research, carried out by seven leading doctors and statisticians, including Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS medical director, looked at hospital records during 2013-14. It found that 15.9 million patients were admitted to hospital over the 12 months and just over 290,000 (1.8 per cent) of them died within 30 days.

When the figures were broken down by day of admission, the ’weekend effect’ was identified. An admission on Fridays led to a two per cent increase in risk of death, on Saturdays it was 10 per cent, on Sundays 15 per cent, while Mondays was five per cent. This totalled 11,000 excess deaths over the course of the year.

While the death rate has not necessarily worsened, many leading medical chiefs have claimed the date reinforced the concerns over the proposed seven day service extension.

Sir Bruce Keogh said: ”Doctors up and down the country routinely go the extra mile, well beyond any contractual duty, to save and improve lives. But the idea that patients are being harmed because of the way we organise our services is quite simply beyond what any of us can regard as acceptable.

"The moral and social case for action is simply unassailable and there is widespread clinical consensus about that. Change always brings practical difficulties that must be tackled but we cannot duck the facts."

British Medical Association leader Dr Mark Porter said: "Given the current funding squeeze on NHS Trusts, the only way for many hospitals to increase the number of doctors over the weekend would be to reduce the number providing care during the week.

"If the government really want to deliver more seven-day services then they need to show patients, the public and NHS staff their plan for how this will be delivered at a time of enormous financial strain on the NHS and when existing services and staff are under extreme pressure."

Read more