THE ‘death rate’ for patients treated at the Royal Blackburn and Burnley General hospitals during the weekend has dropped significantly - following an increase in senior doctors on the wards.

Newly-released figures have been hailed as another sign of major improvement at the hospitals, which came out of special measures last year.

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Despite resistance among some NHS doctors to working weekends, and many charging premium rates, bosses at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT) said their staff have been ‘magnificent’ in accepting more unsocial hours.

The news comes as outstanding staff were recognised at the trust’s annual award ceremony.

In 2013, the Lancashire Telegraph revealed figures which suggested the chance of death was more than 10 per cent higher for ELHT patients being treated at the weekend, and the issue was also highlighted by NHS inspectors.

But according to new data, captured by the trust using the Hospital Standardised Mortality Ratio (HSMR), there were 379 weekend deaths in the year to November, which was 21 fewer than expected.

And remarkably, the weekend death rate is now lower than the weekday rate.

The trust has said it is confident that increased weekend cover from consultants has made a difference.

Kevin McGee, chief executive, said: “We’re doing some more work to try and understand what’s behind this, because it’s multi-factored and difficult to point to one direct decision.

“But primarily it’s the extra cover, with more senior decision-makers and consultants on at weekends.”

Making sure emergency patients are directed to the correct ward, increasing the use of care bundle check-lists, and identifying those at risk of sepsis have also made a difference to the overall death rate, he added.

When asked if it was a struggle to persuade consultants to take more weekend shifts, he said: “We haven’t seen problems or arguments, they’ve been magnificent.

“The clinicians have bought into the fact that we need seven-day working, and they’ve led by example. But I’m not saying we’re completely there yet, because there’s more to do.”

The trust’s weekend HSMR for the year to November was 94, which meant there were 94 actual deaths for every 100 expected deaths (six per cent lower than expected). This was down from 108 in 2012/13, and 106 in 2013/14.

Meanwhile, the weekday HSMR has fluctuated from 97 in 2012/13, to 109 in 2013/14, to 99 in the year to November 2014.

Although national mortality figures have not been published for some time, NHS England compiled a report in January which raised concerns about weekend staffing levels across the health service.

It cited evidence which suggested patients admitted to hospital as an acute medical emergency at the weekend had a 14 per cent increased risk of mortality, equating to an HSMR of 114, compared to those admitted on a weekday.

As previously reported, ELHT’s overall mortality rate under a separate measure, called the Summary Hospital-level Mortality Indicator (SHMI), is also now within expected levels.

The expected number of deaths has increased due to higher attendances and a surge in patients with more acute problems, bosses added.

ELHT had been flagged as a persistent outlier on the SHMI, sparking a major investigation in 2013 and a year-long special measures regime, which coincided with the departure of more than half the board of directors.

Russ McLean, chairman of the Pennine Lancashire Patient Voices Group, said: “This is brilliant news and well done to everyone at the trust.

“The hospitals were placed in special measures partly due to the high death rates, and when Mr McGee came into post last September he promised me he would improve them. This shows we are headed in the right direction.”

Last month, David Cameron said a Conservative government would ensure all hospitals provide a ‘truly seven-day NHS’ by 2020, but Labour said the plans were not credible without a ‘real investment’ in NHS staff.

Dr Ian Stanley, acting medical director at ELHT, said: “These figures represent continued on-going progress in our efforts to ensure that mortality rates are as low as possible.

“They are a sign that the hard work being undertaken by many different people is having the desired effect. However, we want the figures to improve further so will be continuing our efforts to ensure that patients receive safe, personal and effective care at all times. I would like to thank all of our staff for their continuing efforts to achieve this.”