Patients Admitted on a Weekend Are 15% More Likely to Die, Study Says

A new research showed that people who are admitted to a hospital during weekends are 15% more likely to die, compared to those who are admitted on weekdays.

Researchers from UCL and University Hospital Birmingham studied 15 million patients and discovered that 11,000 more people, on average, die every year after a month of being taken to a hospital during weekends, compared to when they were admitted on other days of the week. It was also noted by the researchers that those who were admitted at weekends tend to be sicker and services inside and outside the hospital are reduced at weekends, The Guardian revealed.

The Guardian also cited that patients who were admitted on Sunday were 15% more likely to die compared to patients admitted on Wednesday. Also, patients who were admitted on Saturday were 10% more likely to die than those who were admitted on Wednesday. Patients with heart problems, cancer or after a stroke were specifically at risk during weekends.

There was a clear association between weekend admissions of patients and their worse outlook, based on a report by Evening Standard. The researchers cited that hospital services are usually lowered beginning late Friday through the weekend. There is also marked disruption on Monday morning. Evidence showed that junior hospital doctors feel clinically exposed on weekends and that hospital chief executives are concerned about the levels of weekend cover.

Recently, the government pushed to make the NHS a full-fledged seven-day service. Health secretary Jeremy Hunt threatened consultants to work if they fail to agree to his demand. The new findings placed more pressure on the British Medical Association to agree that consultants should no longer have the contractual right to refuse to work at weekends or in the evenings.

“Patients generally accept the risks associated with their condition and with any necessary treatment, but they should never have to accept an increased risk because of the way healthcare services are designed and delivered,” the researchers stated.

Dr. Bruce Keogh, NHS England’s top medical doctor, said that the priority is to lower mortality by focusing on how to improve the design and delivery of urgent care for the sickest patients. Keogh said that it is not acceptable that patients are placed at a higher risk due to the way that health care services are organized. The goal is to offer the same standard of care across the week.

The findings of the study were published in the British Medical Journal.