PATIENTS are far more likely to die at East Surrey Hospital on a Monday than any other day of the week, according to figures obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request.
The figures highlight an apparent sizeable disparity between death rates on different days of the week, with 40 per cent more deaths on Mondays than on Saturdays, the day of the week when you are least likely to die at the hospital.
Between May 1, 2012 and May 31 this year, 246 people died on a Monday at the hospital, run by Surrey and Sussex NHS Healthcare Trust.
This compares to 176 people dying on a Saturday, 190 dying on a Sunday and 201 dying on a Tuesday.
The figures also show big differences from month to month, with 134 people having died at the hospital in March, compared to just 85 dying there in May 2012.
Hospital chief executive Michael Wilson said he would look into why more patients seem to die on a Monday than any other day, but moved to reassure readers.
He said: "I think this sort of stuff frightens the public.
"Last week this hospital was the best performing hospital in England and Wales for A&E.
"The figures speak for themselves. Our mortality rates are very good. We will be one of the first hospitals to have consultants working seven days a week in key specialities from September."
He added: "We look at and we audit every death.
"More people appear to have died on a Monday. We are going to do a bit of work on that. I don't have an obvious explanation.
"It could be people wait at home over the weekend and decide to call an ambulance on a Monday when they may have deteriorated to such an extent at home it's more difficult to treat them."
Over the 13-month period the figures cover, 1,459 people died at East Surrey.
The level of hospital care on different days of the week came into focus earlier this year when a British Medical Journal report claimed patients who have surgery towards the end of the week are more likely to die than those who have procedures earlier in the week.
East Surrey's figures fluctuate far more than those obtained for Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath and Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton. Over the same period the trust, which treats twice as many people as East Surrey according to a spokeswoman's estimate, saw 269 deaths on Fridays. This was its worst day of the week, with Tuesdays seeing the least deaths – 236.
