§ Dr. FoxTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were recorded as having died from a hospital acquired or secondary infection in each year since 1997; and what percentage of recorded deaths this represented in each case [107729]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Dr. Liam Fox, dated 8 April 2003:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many people were recorded as having died from a hospital acquired or secondary infection in each year since 1997: and what percentage of recorded deaths this represented in each case. (107729)
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.