Although the bright jovial lights we associate with this festive period are now in full swing, the end of the calendar year also provides us with some insight into the mortality rates in England and Wales.
Although the figures for 2017 were the highest numbers registered annually since 2003, the death rates for 2018 look to eclipse them again. In 2017, 533,253 deaths were registered in England and Wales, this was a 1.6% increase from 2016.
The provisional monthly death rates for 2018 have predicted that by the end of the calendar year 545,880 people would have died. This would be a 2.3% increase on the figures from 2017.
Whilst this may be morbid reading, these statistics and the age-standardised mortality rates can supply us with an indication of how the living are affected by certain afflictions.
The 2017 statistics suggested that less people were dying of cancer, respiratory and circulatory diseases, but there was a huge statistical increase of people dying from mental and behavioural disorders which increased by 3.6%, and diseases of the nervous system which increased by 7%.
As 850,000 people are currently living with dementia in the UK, it is now the leading cause of death in the UK with over 70,000 people dying of dementia related conditions in 2017.
When 209,600 people develop dementia each year in the UK, it is increasingly important to ensure adequate safeguards are in place for society’s vulnerable as they begin to lose capacity.
The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) reported that it received 5,327 safeguarding referrals in 2016/17. Of those referrals, the OPG investigated 1,266 instances of suspected abuse in this time which equated to a 45% increase on the amount of cases investigated a year earlier. 272 of the investigated cases resulted in an application to the Court of Protection.
Last year, the OPG were instructed to make 1,362 investigation visits to assess the actions of attorneys or deputies. This figure had increased by 32% from the 1,030 investigation visits carried out in 2016; highlighting both the OPG’s ability to investigate safeguarding issues, and more worryingly, the increase in deputies or attorneys exploiting their trusted position.
Currently, the World Health Organization believes one in six people suffer from elder abuse worldwide; as our population increases and dementia related illnesses increase the number of those lacking capacity, there is a real anxiety that the number of innocent people being abused is also going to escalate out of control, with the OPG struggling to investigate incidents of concern.
The Governmental Statistician comment on the 2017 deaths registered in England and Wales, said: “The number of deaths increased in 2017 to the highest level since 2003. The population is both growing and ageing – when you take those things into account, mortality rates decreased slightly from 2016 to 2017, for both males and females.
“Mortality rates for cancers, respiratory diseases and circulatory diseases have also decreased. However, rates increased for mental and behavioural disorders, such as dementia, and diseases of the nervous system, such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.”
Governmental organisations should review the changes to the way we die in the twenty-first century to help ensure that exploitative and unscrupulous individuals do not take advantage of people that should have increased levels of support whilst they are living.
Are you aware of an increase in exploitative deputies or attorneys? What should be done to reduce this exploitation in the future?
