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Dataset Description

Mortality statistics are based on details collected when deaths are certified and registered. Most deaths are certified by a medical practitioner, using the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD). This certificate is then usually taken to a registrar of births and deaths by a person known as the informant - usually a near relative of the deceased. Deaths should be registered within 5 days of the date of death, although there are some situations when the registration of a death will be delayed, such as those deaths reported to a coroner. The coroner sends information to the registrar, and this is used instead of any information on the MCCD to register the death.

Coverage
The deaths summarised here are those registered in England and Wales for each calendar year. No distinction is made between deaths of civilians and non-civilians.

Terminology
Underlying cause of death is based upon ICD rules and is made from the condition or conditions reported on the MCCD. The underlying cause of death is defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as:

  • the disease or injury that initiated the train of events directly leading to death, or
  • the circumstances of the accident or violence that produced the fatal injury.
Final cause of death is where more information becomes available at a later stage after the death has been registered which will amend the underlying cause of death. This publication uses the final underlying cause.

Please note that the choropleth map is not adjusted for population.

Dataset Provenance

The mortality statistics are derived from the VS3 dataset, published annually by the Office of National Statistics, but not available online. The VS3 dataset provides further break-down into over 120 diseases, we have taken only the 23 high-level categories (Chapters) for the purposes of this visualisation.

Quality of ONS mortality data
Once the data has been derived from the MCCD it passes through a number of processes before becoming usable for analysis. Listed below is a summary of the quality checks and validation that is carried out.

  • Completing MCCDs - Around three-quarters of MCCDs are completed by doctors. The nature and amount of training they have in death certification is varied, however 'issuing death certificates' is a competency that has to be demonstrated during their training. Doctors in practice are required to keep their knowledge and skills up to date through continuous professional education. The remaining MCCDs are completed by coroners. Their training is organised by the Ministry of Justice. The process of referral to a coroner and how referred deaths are dealt with varies between coroners' areas.
  • Registration - Most data items are dependent upon the informant and some items can not be verified for accuracy, however others can be validated or checked for reasonableness. The introduction of RON means extra validation checks can be performed. The Registration Service also use superintendent registrars to carry out quarterly checks and there are regular inspections in the registration districts.
  • Receipt of death registration data at ONS - Routine and automated checks are carried out on each file. When acceptable these are loaded onto the deaths database. Regular receipt and diagnostic reports are produced and any issues are raised with the registrars.
  • Database validation - The data passes through a series of validation processes which are carried out automatically with inconsistencies highlighted.
  • Coding and checks - The ONS uses automated coding systems as well as trained coders to code and check data. These checks evolve continuously during surveillance of data quality and where required additional checks are added.
  • Extraction of data - Checks of data fields are carried out to identify inconsistencies and frequency counts are run to check validity and plausibility.
  • Outputs - Additive checks, checks against the database and overall checks of figures for consistency and sense are carried out.

Geographical Data
The boundary data used to draw the choropleth map is derived by looking up the area codes from the ONS VS3 dataset in the Ordnance Survey Boundary Line dataset. The boundaries are then converted from northing/easting to longditude/latitude, and the polygons are simplified using the Ramer-Douglas-Peucker algorithm.