Weekend Surgery Proves Fatal In Australia; International Study Found Other Trends Around Hospital Admissions

A new international study reveals bitter facts about “weekend effect”, in Australia, which means, you are more likely to die after surgery if you have been admitted to hospital on a weekend.

While, such cases are believed to be just quality-of-care issues, people do tend to get sicker on weekends.

The project conducted by the Global Comparators examined almost 3 million admissions in 28 metropolitan teaching hospitals across England, Australia, USA and the Netherlands between 2009 and 2012.

The research was primarily focused on deaths that occurred in each hospital within 30 days of being admitted due to emergency or planned surgery.

The findings revealed the instances of deaths within a month of admission at an emergency department were higher in countries such as the U.S., the U.K. and the Netherlands. A similar effect was found to be apparent in Australia within a week, unlike weeks later in countries mentioned above.

Meanwhile, the researchers found also one common trend across the board, patients admitted on weekends for planned surgeries were more prone to death within 30 days, than those admitted on other days in a week.

Richard Lilford, public health professor at the University of Warwick in the U.K., reviewed the study in the journal BMJ Quality and Safety.

He said, the limited sample size from Australia made it too difficult to draw conclusions how impactful “weekend effect” was in the country.

The “Weekend Effect” Led To A Debate

Medical experts argue over the relation between weekend deaths and hospitals being poorly resourced on Saturdays and Sundays. But, according to Professor Lilford, there is more to the “weekend effect” theory than what it appears to be.

Meanwhile, University of Adelaide surgery professor Guy Maddern agreed to the higher death rates for surgery performed on weekends.

"The nature of the cases on the weekend do lead to a higher death rate for operations performed on the weekend because they are indeed cases that are already self-selected as the sicker and more urgent ones," he added.

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