Deaths during heatwave (FOI)

I am making a request to find information regarding excess deaths during the heatwave this summer between June 2022 and September 2022. My specific questions are:

A

How many, if any, excess deaths took place between June 2022 and September 2022 in Jersey?

B

How many deaths were recorded in which heat was attributed as a possible cause?

The mortality statistics for Jersey, are derived from information collected from the death certificate at death registration. All of the conditions mentioned on the death certificate are coded using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). From all of these causes an underlying cause of death is selected using ICD-10 coding rules. Cause of death coding is carried out by a specialist team at ONS (Office for National Statistics, UK) on an annual basis.

Death registrations can be delayed due to inquests or other circumstances. An accurate figure for the number of deaths in a given time period cannot be given until sufficient time has passed to allow all death registrations to be made. 

For the above reasons, Jersey deaths are reported on in arrears in Jersey’s annual mortality report (Jersey Mortality Statistics), to allow accurate data on both the number and the cause of deaths to be reported.

A

“Excess deaths” is a term given to describe unusual mortality increase during a specific period. Excess mortality is a statistical measure that can be defined and calculated in lots of different ways. A measure of excess mortality known as the “p-score” is routinely calculated and has been published as part of Jersey’s further mortality report (Jersey Further Mortality Report). The next p-score analysis will include data from deaths occurring in 2022 and will be included in Jersey’s annual mortality report (provisionally scheduled to be published in September 2023).

Articles 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law, 2011 applies to the excess death calculation as the data is not currently held.

B

Cause of death coding is carried out by a specialist team at ONS (Office for National Statistics, UK) on an annual basis. As such, we are unable to provide cause of death for deaths occurring in 2022 until after the end of the year, to allow the cause of death data to be finalised and coded.

Mortality data for 2022 will be published in Jersey’s annual mortality report (which is provisionally scheduled to be published in September 2023).

Articles 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law, 2011 applies to the cause of death data as the data is not currently held.

For the purposes of this Law, information is held by a public authority if –

(a)     it is held by the authority, otherwise than on behalf of another person; or

(b)     it is held by another person on behalf of the authority.