Notes
Health-related websites
Introduction
Health is a fully devolved responsibility, meaning that England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have their own health policies. From a data perspective, however, the responsibilities are somewhat different:
- ONS is responsible for most health data that is relevant to this website for Wales as well as for England. It also publishes selected health data on a UK-wide basis.
- Responsibility for health data for Scotland is split between the General Register Office for Scotland (births and deaths) and ISD (everything else).
- Responsibility for health data for Northern Ireland is split between the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (births and deaths) and the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (everything else).
The material below is organised by these various organisations.
The other complication is that the health data that is published, particularly in the area of mortality, is only a small part of what is actually available. In this context, many of the analyses in this website actually come from data that has been requested rather than published.
Office for National Statistics
Sources
In summary:
- Scope: births and deaths.
- Website: ONS website.
- Underlying datasets: none publicly available.
- Update frequency: annual.
- Data format: spreadsheets.
Use made on this website
| Website section | Scope | Update timing | Indicator | Graphs | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key population and vital statistics | UK-wide | April | Low birthweight babies | third | Table 4.1a. Some of the graphs for Wales and Northern Ireland use the same data source. Uses an intermediate spreadsheet to hold all the data for all the years. |
| Infant deaths | second | Table 4.1b. Some of the graphs for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland use the same data source. Uses an intermediate spreadsheet to hold all the data for all the years. |
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| DR (registered deaths) | England and Wales | August | Suicides | first and second | Table 5.19. Suicides are deaths with ICD code X60-84, Y10-Y34 (excluding Y33.9) or Y87.2. Combine with the equivalent Scottish data to obtain Great Britain-wide results. |
| third | Table 5.19 (DR). | ||||
| Accidental deaths among children | all | The data is not published and therefore needs to be requested. | |||
| child mortality (child births and deaths) | England and Wales | March | Low birthweight babies | first | Table number varies from year to year. Note that sole registrations are excluded because the coding is by the social class of the father. |
| second |
No longer published and therefore needs to be requested. The data for the Welsh-only graph also has to be requested. |
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| fourth and fifth | Table number varies from year to year. | ||||
| Infant deaths | first | Table number varies from year to year. The data for the Welsh-only version has to be requested. Note that sole registrations are excluded because the coding is by the social class of the father. |
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| Underage pregnancies | third | No longer published and therefore needs to be requested. |
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| Excess winter mortality | England and Wales | October | Excess winter deaths | all | The equivalent graphs for Wales use the same data source. |
| ONS conception statistics | England and Wales | February | Underage pregnancies | first and second |
Table 4.1. Add in the Scottish data from ISD Scotland. |
| fourth |
Table 4. Add in the Scottish data from ISD Scotland. |
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| Health Services Quarterly (HSQ) | England and Wales | February, May, August, November | Premature death | third, fourth and fifth | Relevant data is published occasionally on an unpredictable basis |
| N/a (has to be requested) | England and Wales | Irregular | Child accidental deaths | all | |
| Suicides | third | ||||
| Premature death | all |
Uses an intermediate spreadsheet to hold all the data for all the years. |
General Register Office for Scotland (GRO)
Sources
In summary:
- Scope: births and deaths.
- Website: GRO website statistics section.
- Underlying datasets: none publicly available.
- Update frequency: annual.
- Data format: spreadsheets.
Use made on this website
| Website section | Update timing | Indicator | Graphs | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vital events reference tables | July | Suicides | first | Table 6.2. Suicides are deaths with ICD code X60-84, Y87.0, Y10-Y34 and Y87.2. |
| Premature deaths | third | Table 5.1. | ||
| fifth | Table 1.5. The data is the aggregate of: stomach (C16); trachea, bronchus & lung (C33-34) and ischaemic heart diseases (I20-25). |
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| Excess winter deaths | October | Excess winter deaths | first | Table 1. |
| N/a (the data has to be requested) | August | Infant deaths | first | |
| August | Premature deaths | first and second |
ISD Scotland
Sources
In summary:
- Scope: everything not covered by General Register Office for Scotland.
- Website: ISD Scotland website subject index.
- Underlying datasets: none publicly available.
- Update frequency: annual.
- Data format: spreadsheets.
Use made on this website
| Website section | Update timing | Indicator | Graphs | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Births and babies | July | Low birthweight babies | first | Table entitled live births by weight and gestation. |
| second | Table entitled live births by weight and deprivation. |
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| third | Table entitled live births by weight and gestation. | |||
| Teenage pregnancies | September | Underage pregnancies | first | Table 4. |
| second | Table 6. |
Northern Ireland
Most of the analyses on this website come from requests rather than websites, with those requests being placed with either the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (births and deaths) or the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (everything else).
Miscellany
| Website | Update timing | Scope | Indicator | Graphs | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry - surveys section | March | Great Britain | Dental health | second | The Wales and Scotland analyses are a subset of the Great Britain one. |
| The NHS Information Centre website - adult social care section | May | England | Help from social services | first | Community care statistics: home care services for adults. Note that the data for the equivalent graphs for Scotland and Wales has to be requested. |
| National Adult Social Care Intelligence Service (NASCIS) | April | England | Help from social services | second and third | Use the snapshot (PS2) data. Uses an intermediate spreadsheet to hold all the data for all the years. |
| Local Government Data Unit dissemination system website | November | Wales | Help from social services (Wales) | all | Tables C, D, E and F. Add the relevant age groups together to get the yearly total. |