FOI REF: FOI/2023/5039
You asked
Please could you supply the following information:
- The total amount of deaths for people prescribed with midazolam that had Coronavirus (COVID-19) stated on their death certificate for the period between March 2020 and June 2020.
- The total amount of deaths for people not prescribed with midazolam that had COVID-19 stated on their death certificate for the period between March 2020 and June 2020.
We said
Thank you for your request.
Our mortality data comes from the information collected at death registration. All the conditions mentioned on the death certificate are coded using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). From all of these causes an underlying cause of death is selected using ICD-10 coding rules.
The underlying cause of death is defined by WHO as:
a) the disease or injury that initiated the train of events directly leading to death, or\ b) the circumstances of the accident or violence that produced the fatal injury\ Unfortunately, information relating to prescribed medication is not recorded on the death certificate. Therefore, we do not hold the information requested.
We would suggest contacting the Care Quality Commission information.access@cqc.org.uk or NHS Digital enquiries@nhsdigital.nhs.uk. who may be able to advise where such information could be obtained.
For deaths due to and involving COVID, we hold the following analysis:
Deaths due to COVID-19, registered in England and Wales which provides annual number of deaths registered in England and Wales due to and involving coronavirus (COVID-19). Breakdowns include age, sex, region, local authority, Middle-layer Super Output Area (MSOA), indices of deprivation and place of death. Includes age-specific and age-standardised mortality rates.
Deaths registered weekly in England and Wales, provisional which provides provisional counts of the number of deaths registered in England and Wales, by age, sex and region, in the latest weeks for which data are available. Includes the most up-to-date figures available for deaths involving coronavirus (COVID-19).
Monthly mortality analysis, England and Wales which provides Provisional death registration data for England and Wales, broken down by sex, age and country. Includes deaths due to coronavirus (COVID-19) and leading causes of death.
For further information please contact Health.data@ons.gov.uk.