3,000 heart attack and stroke victims a year are suffering delays being admitted to hospitals after falling ill at weekends, because NHS services are not working round the clock, a new report suggests. Senior doctors last night warned that patients are dying needlessly because of poor access to GPs and out-of-hours services failing to detect emergency cases which should be sent to hospital. New analysis of national NHS data shows a steep drop in the number of cases being admitted to hospital as an emergency at weekends, and a still sharper fall in the number who were sent there by GPs.
The figures suggest that each year, 3,144 patients suffering from heart attacks and strokes end up suffering a delay of at least 24 hours being admitted to hospital, because their case was not identified as an emergency.
Click on the link to read more
NHS lets down patients with appalling standards at weekends, says top doctor
Filed under: A&E, Hospital, NHS, Uncategorized, A&E, delay, Hospital, out of hours