Excess deaths in Bucks 2022: hundreds more deaths recorded amid NHS crisis

New Office for National Statistics figures show that over 100 additional deaths were recorded in Buckinghamshire last year.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal that 498 excess deaths were tallied in the county.

Analysis from National World identified a spike in deaths this winter at a time when many NHS trusts declared critical incidents.

During this time period an additional 59 deaths were reported in Buckinghamshire which represents an 18% increase on the figures expected in a four-week period.

When comparing the death toll in Buckinghamshire in 2022, to the five-year average number of deaths recorded in the county prior to Covid, an 11.6 per cent increase has been identified.

However, the 11 per cent rise in anticipated deaths was a small marker when compared to other regions. National World discovered the deaths in the North were up by 20.6 per cent and 22 per cent on average in the North West.

In the past eight weeks Buckinghamshire’s region has been the least affected by the spike in excess deaths with a 9.2 per cent rise in fatalities.

Across England, in the seven days to December 23 across England and Wales, an extra 424 people were dying every day on average – with deaths up by 25.8 per cent compared with the average for the same week between 2015 and 2019.

Additional deaths across the country have been linked to the crisis gripping the NHS.

In Buckinghamshire a critical incident was announced due to resources being stretched to breaking point at Stoke Mandeville Hospital and other health facilities.

In the Thames Valley nearly half of calls to 111 were abandoned due to substantial waiting times.

Demand for medical attention in the UK has reached levels not seen since the Covid pandemic.

While wait times for ambulances is nearing a four-hour average in Buckinghamshire.

A rise in seasonal flu cases in Buckinghamshire also put extra stress on health services, recent data showed dozens of infected patients required hospital beds in the county.

Many health experts have also highlighted the long waiting lists for elective care, plus people avoiding the NHS at the height of the pandemic as other major factors.