The Office for National Statistics have reported that there has been an increase in Excess Winter Deaths.
WE ARE TAKING ACTION. The Conservatives have protected NHS spending. There are now more A&E consultants, more doctors, more hospital nurses, and more midwives than under Labour. We have invested millions extra in A&E to tackle these winter pressures. And we are taking the difficult decisions to tackle the long-term pressures: reforming Labour’s GP contract to bring back named, family doctors for the over-75s, to help keep them safe and well.
LAST WINTER WAS BAD. BUT SOME LABOUR WINTERS WERE WORSE. In 2008/09, sadly there were 36,450 “excess winter deaths” for example. This is more than we saw last year (link). The point is: this is a number that does change, often depending on the harshness of the winter.
LAST YEAR WAS A FREEZING WINTER, BUT THE LONG-TERM TREND IS DOWN. Last winter was particularly cold, with very high levels of influenza and the coldest month of March since 1962. But the long-term trend is down. In 1950/51 for example there were more than triple the number of excess deaths that we see today (link).