Associations between Stroke Mortality and Weekend Working by Stroke Specialist Physicians and Registered Nurses: Prospective Multicentre Cohort Study, an article written by Dr Ben Bray, has been published by PLOS medicine.
The article discusses a recent research study, which used data from the RCP Stroke programme, looking at seven-day working of doctors and nurses in relation to mortality after stroke. This is the first study to look at the evidence base for 7 day working, a current pressure for the NHS.
The study found:
- A link between mortality of stroke patients and the nurse to patient ratio. Weekend nursing ratios were strongly associated with mortality outcomes, not only for patients admitted at a weekend but also for those admitted on a week day.
- Patients admitted to a stroke unit with 1.5 registered nurses / 10 beds had an estimated adjusted 30 day mortality risk of 15.2%, compared to 11.2% for patients admitted to a unit with 3.0 nurses / 10 beds – equivalent to one excess death per 25 admissions.
- Of the patients admitted to a stroke unit, patient mortality risk did not differ whether stroke specialist physician rounds were 7 days per week or fewer than 7 days per week. Many stroke units in the UK are already carrying out 5 day consultant ward rounds.