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Winter deaths rise slightly in north-east

Neil Findlay MSP
Neil Findlay MSP

The number of people who died last winter in the Grampian region rose slightly from the previous year.

Data from National Records of Scotland released yesterday showed there were 1,905 deaths between December and March this year, compared to 1,892 during the same period in 2012-13.

The organisation said there was no single cause of additional deaths in winter and very few are caused by hypothermia and influenza.

It surmised that most people died from diseases such as pneumonia, coronary heart disease and stroke.

A total of 767 deaths were registered in Aberdeen over the period in question in 2013-14, up from 751 the year before.

In Aberdeenshire, 786 people died over the winter months in comparison to 811 in 2013-14.

A total of 352 people died in Moray between December and March this year in comparison to 330 the year before.

The figures showed that 1,141 people died in the NHS Highland area between December and March this year in comparison to 1,238 in 2012-13.

The figures showed that the winter mortality rate in Scotland as a whole is now at a 60-year low.

There were 18,675 deaths during the four months from November 2013 to February 2014 – the lowest since records began in 1951-52.

The number of “additional” deaths over the winter months when compared to the rest of the year was the second lowest recorded, with an estimated 1,600 more fatalities during this period.

That is a drop of 400 on winter 2012-13 while only the winter of 2011/12 has a lower total, with 1,420 additional deaths that season.

National Records of Scotland chief executive Tim Ellis said: “The long-term trend over the last 60 years or so has clearly been downward.”