Ceu Mateus

Sep 21, 2023 | journals.sagepub.com | Catherine Walshe |Ceu Mateus |Sandra Varey |Steven Dodd

What is already known about the topic? •Patterns of health care usage appear to change over time, with increasing use of out-of-hours services, such as emergency departments, as death approaches. •A higher proportion of patients are admitted to hospitals as emergencies on weekends rather than week days. What this paper adds•Enhanced 7-day specialist palliative care services were associated with trends for shorter but more frequent hospital stays.

Sep 21, 2023 | journals.sagepub.com | Catherine Walshe |Ceu Mateus |Sandra Varey |Steven Dodd

What is already known about the topic? •Patterns of health care usage appear to change over time, with increasing use of out-of-hours services, such as emergency departments, as death approaches. •A higher proportion of patients are admitted to hospitals as emergencies on weekends rather than week days. What this paper adds•Enhanced 7-day specialist palliative care services were associated with trends for shorter but more frequent hospital stays.