Deaths rise 'as new doctors start work'
Research suggests a link between rise in deaths and when new doctors start work
Also In The News
|
By Richard James. |  |
Wednesday, 23, Sep 2009 09:23
By inthenews.co.uk staff.
Researchers have said there is evidence to suggest an increase in deaths during August could be linked to junior doctors starting work.
Newly qualified doctors start their new positions in NHS hospitals in England on the first Wednesday in August, and Imperial College London claims a new study shows patients are around six per cent more likely to die at this time.
The Dr Foster Unit and the Department of Acute Medicine at Imperial College London, say the excess mortality rates may be linked to this influx of newly qualified doctors but more research is needed before they can draw any firm conclusions.
Researchers looked at data for almost 300,000 patients admitted to hospitals in 175 NHS Trusts between 2000 and 2008.
Although mortality rates fluctuate throughout the year, the researchers said "the effect identified in their research is small, it is statistically significant and there appears to be a relatively consistent pattern over the nine years of the study".
Dr Paul Aylin, the senior author of the study from the Dr Foster Unit at Imperial College London said: "We wanted to find out whether mortality rates changed on the first Wednesday in August, when junior doctors take up their new posts. What we have found looks like an interesting pattern and we would now like to look at this in more detail to find out what might be causing the increase.
"Our study does not mean that people should avoid going into hospital that week. This is a relatively small difference in mortality rates, and the numbers of excess deaths are very low. It's too early to say what might be causing it. It might simply be the result of differences between the patients who were admitted."
The study did not look at the cause of individual deaths.