FOI REF: FOI-2023-1450
You asked
Please can you send me any data you have of deaths by suicide that you have recorded of medical doctors for the years 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 to date in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and the UK and any available data on comparisons with national average rates in the general population and with other professional occupations?
We said
Thank you for your request.
We are responsible for the production of mortality statistics for England and Wales, mortality statistics for Scotland and Northern Ireland can be requested from National Records of Scotland and the Northern Ireland Statistical Research Agency.
In the most recent available data for Suicides by occupation there were 32 suicides among health professionals in 2020 and 33 suicides in 2021. Please refer to this publication for information on other professions for 2020 and 2021.
Please note that the numbers detailed here cannot be used to ascertain the risk of suicide among occupations. Differences in numbers of deaths may merely reflect the underlying population structure as opposed to differences in risk.
Figures for 2022 and 2023 will be available following publication of the respective annual Suicides in England and Wales bulletins. We are also currently working towards an update to Suicide by occupation, England, which will include age-standardised mortality rates for comparative purposes, and data for deaths registered up until the end of 2022. This update is due to be published in 2024 in line with published plans.
As such, 2022 data for Suicides in England and Wales and Suicide by occupation, England are exempt under Section 22(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, whereby information is exempt from release if there is a view to publish the information in the future. As a central government department and producer of official statistics, we need to have the freedom to be able to determine our own publication timetables. This is to allow us to deal with the necessary preparation, administration and context of publications. It would be unreasonable to consider disclosure when to do so would undermine our functions.
This exemption is subject to a public interest test. We recognise the desirability of information being freely available and this is considered by ONS when publication schedules are set in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics. The need for timely data must be balanced against the practicalities of applying statistical skill and judgement to produce the high quality, assured data needed to inform decision-making. If this balance is incorrectly applied, then we run the risk of decisions being based on inaccurate data which would not be in the interests of the public. This will have an impact on public trust in official statistics in a time when accuracy of official statistics is more important to the public than ever before.