Mysterious rise in death rates

In the first seven weeks of 2018, there were an extra 10,375 deaths (a rise of 12.4%) compared with the previous five years. Writing in the British Medical Journal, Lucinda Hiam, a GP and Honorary Researcher at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Disease, and Professor Danny Dorling from the University of Oxford, say the Government is failing to investigate rising death rates and worsening health.

Although the deaths increase cannot be explained by an ageing population, flu epidemic or cold weather, Hiam and Dorling note unusual trends in the NHS.  On 2nd January, thousands of non-urgent operations were cancelled and many hospitals were at or beyond safe working levels.  The writers say the past five years have been challenging for health outcomes in the UK. They also point out that the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has recently reduced its projections of life expectancy for men and women in the UK by almost a year each. It’s estimated more than a million lives will end earlier than expected.