§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people who died in the last 12 months had hospital acquired infection attributed as the cause of death on their death certificates. [189440]
§ Mr. TimmsThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Tim Loughton, dated 21 September 2004:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people who died in the last 12 months had hospital acquired infection attributed as the cause of death on their death certificates. (189440).
It is not possible to give reliable figures on the number of deaths involving hospital-acquired infections from routinely collected mortality data, as information on where the infection was acquired may not be available to the doctor certifying the death.
1786W