Image: Jeremy Hunt, Health Secretary
There is no doubt that people admitted to a hospital as an emergency on a Saturday or a Sunday are statistically more likely to die than people admitted during the working week. The difference varies according to the type of emergency and the individual hospital but on average it is large – up to 16% higher on a Sunday.
We know something about the cause. Patients admitted at the weekend are sicker on average so a difference could be anticipated. There are fewer emergency admissions at the weekend and one would expect that the missing emergencies are the less ill ones who can wait until Monday.
