New data has revealed that 20,000 additional deaths occurred during the first 16 weeks of 2018.
According to the Office for National Statistics, England and Wales saw 20,215 extra deaths over this time frame in comparison to the last five years.
Concerns were raised by academics earlier in the year over a potential rise in British mortality, with comments in an editorial from the British Medical Journal suggesting failures from health chiefs in terms of investigating the trend.
The article looked at the first seven weeks of 2018, highlighting that “neither flu, nor cold weather appeared to be the main cause” of the 10,000 extra deaths.
The research has now gone on to cover the first 16 weeks of this year, which saw 19,943 – up from the previous 5 year average of 178,778.
A Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We keep all research in this area under review, but the ‘age standardised mortality rate’ – which had been broadly stable in recent years – is considered a much more reliable measure, as this type of research doesn’t take into account fluctuations in population numbers and the ageing population.”
