North West London Hospitals are one of seven NHS Trusts to be recognised for improvement in weekend emergency death rates over the past year.

The trust was acknowledged for having lower than expected mortality rates in industry leading 2013 Dr Foster Hospital Guide awards.

David McVittie, the trust’s chief executive, said: “We are delighted that we have maintained our excellent record on mortality rates for the seventh year running and that this year we have been recognised for making improvements for patients being treated at weekends at our hospitals too.

“This is good news for our patients. It is so important they receive as high quality care at weekends as they would at any other time.

The hospital standardised mortality rate (HSMR) and summary hospital-level mortality indicators (SHMI) showed that the Trust had a better than expected overall death rate, recording 81.7 and 82 respectively.

The national average is 100.

SHMI measures deaths in hospital and for 30 days after discharge, following hospital treatment for all conditions, whereas the HSMR is a measure of deaths while in hospital care, based on 56 conditions that account for 80% of deaths.

The trust claims there has been an increase in consultant cover over the weekends and improved access to other important services such as physiotherapy to provide patient with the best quality care.

Mr McVittie added: “Mortality rates are an important indicator of the quality of care patients receive and this is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our staff.”