Tuesday 3 January 2017

Patients no more at risk of death on weekends than during week

Patients no more at risk of death on weekends than during week Patients are not a greater risk of dying on weekends than at any other times, a British academic argued.

Professor Dr Nick Black warned politicians needed “to avoid unjustified claims about an increased risk of death among patients” because of the so-called weekend effect.

This was the justification used by Jeremy Hunt to implement a seven day a week NHS and impose new contracts on junior doctors leading to the first ever strike when they refused to provide emergency cover.

The Professor of Health Services Research at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said past studies had incorrectly estimated mortality at up to a sixth higher for weekend admissions. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

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