Medical Negligence

Weekend hospital care: a second class service?

Charlotte Moore examines the acknowledgement from the Secretary of State for Health that NHS hospital care is less safe at weekends.

It is an issue that has long been evident from the cases that we see as clinical negligence solicitors - standards of care in hospitals are lower during the weekend when compared to weekdays. 

Many of the clinical negligence cases, which we have brought against hospitals over the years have resulted from inadequate care of patients during weekends and bank holidays. 

Research Company, Dr Foster, has now highlighted this disparity between care at weekends and weekdays.  It has been identified that across 147 hospital trusts, people admitted for emergency treatment at weekends are almost 10% more likely to die than those taken in during the week.

As we have seen from our cases, this problem lies with lack of senior doctor supervision, input and review over weekends.  In addition, many hospitals services, such as operating theatres and radiology departments, close down over the weekend, which makes diagnosis of serious illness more difficult to make and treat.  

The Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley commented on this problems saying:

“You do tend to see junior doctors on the ward at the weekend and you don't see the consultants backing them up…Whenever they are working they should be properly supervised.

By opening some services seven days a week, more patients will get the care and treatment that they need when they need it.

Unfortunately in the NHS, if you fail to do something at the right time you have poorer outcomes and that means people don’t recover as they should — or, in some cases, die when they shouldn’t.”

Mr Lansley’s proposal to deal with this problem is to offer cash bonuses to hospitals who employ more staff at weekends, thereby taking the pressure off junior doctors.

Improving the standards of care over weekends and bank holidays by having more senior doctors available on wards, with greater knowledge and experience is, in my opinion, the best way to tackle this problem, which will ultimately result in fewer avoidable deaths and unnecessary complications in treatment.   

If you or a member of your family believe you have received negligent care at any hospital, call our specialist Medical Negligence team free on 0800 0382 382 or click here.