NHS report more people dying of pneumonia in north of England than south

A new NHS study has revealed that people living in the north of England have an increased risk of dying from pneumonia than those in the south, exposing what researchers have labelled “deep-seated” inequalities and poor care provided to patients.

According to the report by NHS improvement body Aqua, the northwest region has the highest death rate from the lung disease and overall, a higher number of patients are admitted to hospital in the north of England than in the south.

Experts have warned that the UK overall is performing poorly in treating patients, having the third highest age-adjusted death rate for pneumonia in Europe, only lagging behind Slovakia and Romania.

The report revealed that variation between hospitals contributed to the poor performance with diagnosis delays and less than seven in ten patients being administered antibiotics within four hours. At one NHS trust, less than 50 per cent of patients received antibiotics on time.

Associate director at Aqua, Ruth Yates, said “Deep-seated inequalities between north and south which have persisted for too long create a perfect storm for pneumonia to proliferate. Covid-19 has cruelly underlined the need to address this disparity, while also elevating interest in the way we diagnose and treat patients with respiratory disease to an all-time high.

“As a nation, we are now accustomed to tragic daily death numbers reported due to the virus. In the northwest, more than 10,000 people have sadly died from coronavirus since the pandemic begin.

“It has elicited a cohesive response from local and NHS leaders on an incredible scale. However, we shouldn’t forget about pneumonia, which was here before Covid and saw 6,700 people die in hospital in the northwest in 2019.”

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Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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