Forty-eight-hour hospital mortality: an emergency department perspective studying the relationship between suboptimal care and mortality

Abstract

Background: Patients have been recognised to suffer from adverse events if they receive suboptimal care in an acute healthcare setting. The main aim of this study was to ascertain the quality of care delivered to patients who are admitted via an Emergency Department and die within 48 hours of hospital admission. A second aim was to determine if patient admission to the Emergency Department (ED) at the weekend or during out of hours (OOH) resulted in suboptimal care.