FOI Ref: FOI/2022/3588
You asked
Of the number of deaths from COVID-19 where the individual case did not have any other underlying cause (see below 1 - though also with Q4 2021 data, if it is now available), and also including the age group within which these individuals are part of, please can you provide me with the data relating to what treatments these patients received in hospital before their deaths. For example, I am interested in, at least but not limited to (e.g., if more data exists, please provide that):
- How long (in days) the individuals were in the hospital for, before their death
- Whether the individuals were moved from wards within the hospital (e.g., a ward to the ICU) and if so how many times
- Whether the individuals were moved between hospitals and if so how many times
- Whether each individual was placed on a ventilator (and if so: how long, if known, in days, before their death)
- Whether each individual was given any treatments via mouth, via needle, via catheter, or any other means (and if so, in each treatment case: what treatments they were, what dosages, for how long, in days, before their death)
We said
Thank you for your enquiry.
ONS are responsible for the production of mortality data for England and Wales, this is driven by information collected from death certificates at death registration.
COVID-19 deaths no underlying cause Q4 2021
The medical certificate of cause of death has two parts, Part 1 contains the sequence of health conditions or events leading directly to death, while Part 2 can contain other health conditions that contributed to the death but were not part of the direct sequence. Deaths due to COVID-19 usually have COVID-19 mentioned in Part 1 and may have consequences of COVID-19, such as pneumonia, mentioned in lines above. The presence of conditions listed as consequences of COVID-19 are not underlying conditions and are not counted in our method to describe pre-existing conditions mentioned in deaths due to COVID-19.
We define pre-existing conditions as those mentioned in Part 2 of the medical certificate of cause of death. If COVID-19 is mentioned in Part 1 on lines above other conditions also mentioned in Part 1, the last condition mentioned in Part 1 is also considered a pre-existing condition. We don't know exactly how many people who died from COVID-19 had no pre-existing health conditions, only how many did not have a pre-existing condition mentioned on the death certificate. A contributor to the cause of death is expected to have increased the likelihood of death, but this does not mean that the death would have been avoided in its absence.
Please see quarter 4 2021 edition: Pre-existing conditions of people whose death was recorded with an underlying cause of COVID-19. Table 1 row 28 contains figures for Q4 2021 for deaths due to COVID-19 without any pre-existing conditions.
2021 Q4: 1536 (0-64: 568/ 65 and over: 968)
We would also recommend reading our recent blog on this subject: To say only 17,000 people have died from COVID-19 is highly misleading | National Statistical (ons.gov.uk).
In response to your additional questions:
1. Unfortunately, we do not hold this information. We are notified of the cause of death via the information provided on the death certificate. We do not hold information on how long patients were in hospital for.
2. We do not hold information on patient care in hospital. We do not collect information to know whether they were moved between wards during their time in hospital.
3. We do not hold information on patient care in hospital, therefore we would not know if a patient was moved between hospitals.
4. We do not hold this information, as we are provided with information surrounding the causes of death via the death certificate. The death certificate does not notify us of events leading up to the death, i.e. if the patient was placed on a ventilator.
5. We do not hold this information. As above, we are provided with information surrounding the causes of death via the death certificate. The death certificate does not notify us of events leading up to the death, i.e. any treatments the patient had undergone.
NHS Digital may be better placed to answer your enquiries (1 to 5). They can be contacted via email at enquiries@nhsdigital.nhs.uk.
If you would like to discuss this enquiry further, please contact health.data@ons.gov.uk.