Deaths in Psychiatric care 2019 to 2020 (FOI)

Request

As a follow on from FOI response Deaths in Psychiatric care - Deaths in psychiatric care (FOI) -

How many deaths occurred in Jersey psychiatric care in 2019 and 2020 to include all wards and the same breakdown please?

Response

In 2019, 13 deaths were recorded of people on mental health wards.

In 2020, 13 deaths were recorded of people on mental health wards.

All deaths recorded were of residents of the long term care wards, Maple Ward and Oak Ward. Amongst people requiring admission to these wards, some would require lifelong care and were resident in these facilities until the time of their death. 

The figures also include those ordinarily resident on these wards who passed away at Jersey General Hospital whilst being treated for acute physical illnesses.

The following mental health facilities were considered for the purposes of this query:

As the numbers are small, Health and Community Services are unable to provide a further breakdown of these figures by month, gender or cause of death, as it may lead to the identification of individuals and breach the confidentiality of their personal information. Therefore, Article 25 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied to protect the privacy of individuals.  

Article Applied

Article 25 - Personal information

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2005.

(2) Information is absolutely exempt information if –

(a) it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2005; and

(b) its supply to a member of the public would contravene any of the data protection principles, as defined in that Law.

3)     In determining for the purposes of this Article whether the lawfulness principle in Article 8(1)(a) of the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018 would be contravened by the disclosure of information, paragraph 5(1) of Schedule 2 to that Law (legitimate interests) is to be read as if sub-paragraph (b) (which disapplies the provision where the controller is a public authority) were omitted.