Number of winter deaths soared across the region

EXCESS winter deaths in the West Midlands have soared by more two-fifths in a year.

Between December 2016 and March 2017, there were an estimated 3,600 excess winter deaths in the region, meaning deaths in winter were 20.9 per cent higher than the rest of the year.

The number of excess winter deaths were up 38.5 per cent compared to the 2015 to 2016 winter period, however, they were lower than the 4,350 recorded in 2014 to 2015.

Across England and Wales, between December 2016 and March 2017, there were an estimated 34,300 excess winter deaths in England and Wales.

All of the English regions observed significant increases in the excess winter mortality index between winter periods 2015 to 2016 and 2016 to 2017, whereas excess winter mortality for Wales remained stable.

For the 2016 to 2017 winter period, the peak in daily deaths occurred towards the beginning of January 2017.

The peak in mortality can be partly explained by moderate levels of a dominant strain of influenza A(H3N2) activity peaking in the first week of 2017.

It could also be partly explained by temperature as it was found that temperatures during the winter months of 2016 to 2017 were colder than the winter months of the previous year. The minimum daily temperatures during the first week of January 2017 were also lower than January 2016.

Early January also saw hospitals across England coming under increased pressure, with more than 40 hospitals reporting major operational pressures on January 3, 4 and 5, with more than 50 reporting pressures at this level on the days between January 7 and 10.

Females and the elderly were most affected by excess winter mortality in the 2016 to 2017 winter period.

And over one-third of all excess winter deaths were caused by respiratory diseases