§ Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many sudden unexpected deaths from epilepsy there were in(a) Shropshire, (b) the West Midlands,(c) England and (d) the UK in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [111667]
§ Ruth KellyI have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Owen Paterson, dated 7 May 2003:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning how many sudden unexpected deaths from epilepsy there were in (a) Shropshire, (b) the West Midlands, (c) England and (d) the UK in each of the last five years for which figures are available (111667).
762WThe figures requested are given in the following table. The total number of deaths with an underlying cause of epilepsy are also provided as context for the number that are "sudden unexpected deaths"
Number of deaths with an underlying cause of epilepsy1 and among those, those where "sudden unexpected death in epilepsy"2 was mentioned on the death certificate, England, West Midlands Government Office Region and Shropshire,3 1997 to 20014 Number of deaths England West Midlands Shropshire Year All Sudden unexpected All Sudden unexpected All Sudden unexpected 1997 769 54 77 * * — 1998 789 55 76 * 7 — 1999 819 87 97 5 8 — 2000 804 97 90 * 11 — 2001 984 149 118 25 9 * —Zero deaths *Fewer than five deaths 1Cause of death selected using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code 345 for the years 1997 to 2000, and, for the year 2001, the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes G40 and G41. 2Deaths where "sudden unexpected death in epilepsy" or similar wording (e.g. "sudden unexplained death in epilepsy") was written on the death certificate. 3Figures relate deaths of usual residents of these areas. Figures for Shropshire are for the former county as they include deaths in Telford and Wrekin which became a unitary authority in 1998. Figures for the United Kingdom are not available. 4Figures are for deaths which occurred in these years.