EXCLUSIVE: Rutland in the East Midlands logged 49 deaths last month – 17 (53.1 per cent) more than the 32 fatalities usually seen at that time of year, based on the five-year average (shown in map). Excess deaths across England have been on the rise since the summer but have spiked in recent weeks, with a fifth more fatalities than expected in one week of January alone (bottom right). Experts have blamed the NHS crisis – which has seen record waits for ambulances and in A&E – as well as a wave of flu, fewer patients seeking care in the pandemic and the freezing temperatures logged in December. MPs yesterday called for an ‘urgent investigation’ to get to the bottom what is behind the surge in deaths. Mortality data shows that deaths due to heart disease, respiratory disease, flu and pneumonia, as well as those where no specific diagnosis could be made, are all higher than expected (top right graph).

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