Cardiac death ‘more likely’ with weekend hospital admission

Mortality is higher and length of stay longer compared with acute admissions on weekdays, Australian cardiologists show
Clare Pain

Patients admitted to a cardiology ward at a large regional tertiary hospital were nearly twice as likely to die when admitted on a weekend, a study shows.

In what they believe is the first such study of cardiology admissions worldwide, doctors from the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle say they have demonstrated the so-called ‘weekend effect’ is real although they are unclear about the reason.