Summary
This publication of the Seven-day Services indicators relates to activity in the period October 2018 to September 2019.
The indicators presented in this report are being published to provide information on how we can effectively measure both improvement and variation in care provision across the week. This report includes indicators on the following topics:
• Emergency readmissions within seven days of discharge from hospital by day of discharge
• Mortality within 30 days of admission by week-part of admission to hospital
• Length of stay following an emergency admission to hospital by day of admission
If variation exists across the week for a particular hospital trust, it should be examined in more detail to understand the causes. The indicators require careful interpretation and should be used in conjunction with other indicators and information from other sources that together form a holistic view of trust outcomes.
From April 2020, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is no longer commissioning NHS Digital to produce these indicators. Therefore, no further publications in this series are planned.
• The national results are broadly similar to those for previous reporting periods.
• Patients who were discharged on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday had an increased likelihood of an emergency readmission within seven days of discharge compared to those who were discharged on a Wednesday.
• Patients who were admitted at the weekend had an increased likelihood of mortality within 30 days of admission compared to those who were admitted midweek.
• Patients who were admitted in an emergency stayed slightly longer in hospital if they were admitted on a Saturday.
There are many possible explanations for this variation including differences in the case-mix of patients (over and above that accounted for in the analysis), patient behaviour and provision of services both in and outside of the hospital (including social care), but this analysis is unable to determine the causes of the observed variation.
Notes:
1. There is a shortfall in the number of records in the reporting period for the following trusts: Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust (RYV), Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (trust code RV3), Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust (trust code RP4), Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (trust code RW5), Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (trust code RP7), Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (trust code RHA), Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (trust code RMP) and University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (trust code RRV). Results for these trusts are based on incomplete data and should therefore be interpreted with caution.
2. From this publication onwards, the adjustment for deprivation in the emergency readmissions and mortality indicators uses the 2019 version of the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD). Previous releases of these indicators used the 2015 version. Further information is available in the statement of methodological changes (see Related links).
3. The following mergers took place on 1st October 2019: Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (trust code RNN) merged with North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust (trust code RNL). The new trust is called North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (trust code RNN). Aintree University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (trust code REM) merged with Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust (trust code RQ6). The new trust is called Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (trust code REM). 2Gether NHS Foundation Trust (trust code RTQ) merged with Gloucestershire Care Services NHS Trust (trust code RJ1). The new trust is called Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust (trust code RTQ). Results are presented to reflect the updated organisational structure from this publication onwards.
4. Further information on data quality can be found in the Seven-day Services background quality report, which can be downloaded from the ‘Resources’ section of this page. Further guidance on the interpretation of the indicators is also available to download from this page.
Last edited: 8 July 2021 5:26 pm