§ Dr. Roger Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on the data from the Office of Population, Censuses and Surveys on deaths from hypothermia in winter.
§ Sir George YoungRoutine statistics based on a single cause using the International Classification of Diseases are an incomplete measure of the number of deaths involving hypothermia and therefore a special count of all death registrations which mention hypothermia—whether alone or with other causes—is carried out by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys. The figures, for all ages and all circumstances in which hypothermia was mentioned on death 211W registrations in England and Wales in recent December and March quarters, are as follows:
Quarter of registration December quarter 1974 March quarter 1975 128 March quarter 1975 217 December quarter 1975 150 March quarter 1976 291 December quarter 1976 203 March quarter 1977 343 December quarter 1977 138 March quarter 1978 420 December quarter 1978 144 March quarter 1979 535* * Provisional. Interpretation of the trend in these figures needs to take into account the extent to which hypothermia is being clinically recognised and diagnosed more often because of publicity.