"an additional toll of up to 100 deaths every day"

November 16, 2017 6:24 AM

The squeeze on public finances since 2010 is linked to nearly 120,000 excess deaths in England, with the over 60s and care home residents bearing the brunt, reveals the first study of its kind, published in the online journal BMJ Open. The critical factor in these figures may be changes in nurse numbers, say the researchers, who warn that there could be an additional toll of up to 100 deaths every day from now on in.

The original research is published in the BMJ Open journal.

According to the first link, the BMJ blog post announcing this research:

Between 2010 and 2014, the NHS in England has only had a real term annual increase in government funding of 1.3 per cent, despite rising patient demand and healthcare costs.

And real term spend on social care has fallen by 1.19 per cent every year during the same period, despite a significant projected increase in the numbers of over 85s–those most likely to need social care–from 1.6 million in 2015 to 1.8 million in 2020, say the researchers.

While this mismatch in supply and demand and the funding gaps facing services have been well quantified, the potential impact on population health remains unclear.

To try and address this, the researchers mined nationally available data on population deaths, life expectancy, and potential years of life lost. And they collected data on health and social care resources and finances from 2001 to 2014.

They then compared actual death rates for 2011 to 2014 with those that would be expected, based on trends before spending cuts came into play, and taking account of national and economic factors, such as unemployment rates and pensions.

posted by MartinWisse (16 comments total)

Yes but you can't really measure how many more would have died without austerity from food poisoning in food they wouldn't otherwise have, or from cracking their skulls doing cartwheels to express joy they wouldn't otherwise feel?
posted by fleacircus at 6:45 AM on November 16, 2017 [5 favorites]

We're finally getting firm evidence that conservative ideology, including much of libertarianism, is responsible for what is essentially mass murder on an enormous scale.
posted by zombieflanders at 6:51 AM on November 16, 2017 [29 favorites]

see my comment earlier
posted by lalochezia at 6:59 AM on November 16, 2017 [3 favorites]

murdering tory bastards.
posted by runincircles at 6:59 AM on November 16, 2017 [5 favorites]

"If they would rather die," said Scrooge, "they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population."
posted by briank at 7:08 AM on November 16, 2017 [5 favorites]

Serial killers can only *wish* they were able to kill as many people as conservative politicians do. Sure, you don't get that hands-on rush as a politician, but if killing people is your thing, conservative politics is where the action is.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:20 AM on November 16, 2017 [13 favorites]

My mother is a carer for the elderly. She's also in her seventies (can't afford to retire). She now works for one of the private care companies the Council outsources to.

Her elderly folk get two visits per day, up to an hour long. Hers get the full hour (so she's got time to wash/toilet/clothe/feed and a chat) because she only goes to two people, but most get anywhere from half hour to an hour because staff have got to get to the next appointment, and there's no mind given to whether its in the next street or right across the county.

And that's it. A few hours rushed company per day with the absolute swiftest of personal care from carers who change all the time. The other 22 hours a day on your tod with the television. Fuck that for a life.

Austerity is such a shitty fucking ideology and it's defenders are fucking monsters.
posted by threetwentytwo at 7:23 AM on November 16, 2017 [13 favorites]

So it's mostly the elderly dying, and mostly the elderly voting for the Tories? Something interesting going on there, surely?
posted by clawsoon at 7:56 AM on November 16, 2017 [2 favorites]

Either the Tories will end or voting will.
posted by acb at 8:05 AM on November 16, 2017

Standard Tory response would be “Labour spending spree bankrupted the nation, so austerity is the only choice.” It’s so predictable and logically flawless: from falsehood, anything.
posted by runcifex at 8:14 AM on November 16, 2017 [1 favorite]

Le livre noir du capitalisme.
posted by longbaugh at 8:42 AM on November 16, 2017

Ironically this all pathed the way for Brexit as a "response", which will kill even more people.
posted by Artw at 8:47 AM on November 16, 2017 [4 favorites]

It may become useful for names to be assigned to each new guillotine - to track its location, service record, Maintenance Schedule, etc. I propose the name CAMERON for the first.
posted by armoir from antproof case at 10:27 AM on November 16, 2017 [4 favorites]

Serial killers can only *wish* they were able to kill as many people as conservative politicians do
Sting & the Police had it figured out 30 years ago...

But you can reach the top of your profession
If you become the leader of the land,
For murder is the sport of the elected,
And you don't need to lift a finger of your hand
Because it's murder by numbers, 1, 2, 3,
It's as easy to learn as your A, B, C, D, E,..........

posted by oneswellfoop at 3:12 PM on November 16, 2017 [3 favorites]

So it's mostly the elderly dying, and mostly the elderly voting for the Tories? Something interesting going on there, surely?

Just the universal tendency for chickens to be fiercely partisan for Colonel Sanders.

See also: Trump supporters.
posted by flabdablet at 9:04 PM on November 16, 2017

Anyone want to bet on how long before we start seeing this study as a conservative talking point about how it's really socialized medicine that kills people?
posted by Cocodrillo at 3:24 AM on November 17, 2017