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Freemantle N, Ray D et al. BMJ 2015; 351: h4596

There is an increased likelihood of death within 30 days of admission, when patients were admitted at the weekend. In addition there was a 'weekend effect' (when patients were admitted on Friday and Monday). The investigators used 'survivorship models' and adjusted for explanatory variables for death by applying for example, the Charlson Comorbidity Index. When patients were already in hospital there was no increased risk of death at weekends. Using improvements in modelling, the results from this study support those published by the same group (J R Soc Med 2012; 105: 74–84) that calculated the much vaunted figure that mortality rates are 16% higher for patients admitted on a Sunday compared with when admitted on a Wednesday (HR = 1.16). But then only 1.8% of patients die within 30 days of admission. These figures have been drilled into by the BBC Radio 4 programme More or less.