Should the NHS work at weekends as it does in the week? Yes

Initially conceived in 1940s America to respect Christian and Jewish practices, the weekend has been universally adopted in Western countries as protected personal time. In the UK challenges from high street retailers resulted in a change to the Sunday trading law in 1994. Since then, social behaviour has changed profoundly. Public expectations of service provision for customer convenience have resulted in the provision of routine services seven days a week in many industries—but not in healthcare.

This is a shame because extending the service would offer the opportunity to improve clinical outcomes with the added benefit of a much more patient focused service.