NHS Highland Clinical Governance Support Team Assynt House Beechwood Park Inverness IV2 3BW Telephone 01463 717123

www.nhshighland.scot.nhs.uk

Miss G Simpson Date: 5 February 2021 Your Ref: request-718428- Our Ref: MM/HC FOI 9470 [email protected] Enquiries to: FOI Team Email [email protected]

Dear Miss Simpson

Freedom of Information Act Request Ref 9470 Covid-19 Deaths

With reference to your request for information dated 14 January 2021 regarding the above, please find below your questions and our response:-

1. How many people have died in greater Highland and island hospitals from covid 19 alone? In respect to, the person was admitted to these hospitals and died only due to covid 19. I can see your figures which are published online but these are deaths with 28days of a positive covid test, so they could have died from other causes. I just want to know the total and exact number of people who have died of covid 19 alone in each of highland and islands hospitals between 1st Jan 2020 to 31 Dec 2020, please.

These figures should be for those people who were admitted to each hospital, after presenting with covid symptoms only, and who required treatment for covid 19 only, and who then died in each hospital by covid 19 alone, not died from something else, while having covid19.

Please provide a breakdown of these total number of deaths for each hospital that comes under Highland and islands nhs.

This response is based upon information collected at death registration. National Records (NRS) are responsible for recording death registration and publishing the statistics pertaining to Scotland. NHS Highland receive and hold extracts of weekly death registration from NRS. Please note that all data extracted from weekly NRS death registrations for 2020 are provisional.

Notes: COVID-19 is reported on a death certificate as any other cause of death. A number of diseases, conditions or events which caused or contributed to the death can be specified. Figures for a particular cause of death can be produced in three forms.

Headquarters: Assynt House, Beechwood Park, Inverness, IV2 3BW

Chair: Professor Boyd Robertson Chief Executive: Pam Dudek

1. Underlying cause - the disease or injury which initiated the chain of morbid events leading directly to death or was the accident or event which produced a fatal injury. 2. Contributory factor - where the disease or injury was not the underlying cause of death, but it contributed or hastened its occurrence. 3. Any mention - where the disease or injury is mentioned on the death certificate, either as the underlying cause or death or a contributory cause.

Cause of death is coded according to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Conditions 10th Revision (ICD-10).

The relevant codes are U07.1 and U07.2.

 U07.1 COVID-19, virus identified is assigned to a disease diagnosis of COVID-19 confirmed by laboratory testing  U07.2 COVID-19, virus not identified is assigned to a clinical or epidemiological diagnosis of COVID-19 where laboratory confirmation is inconclusive or not available

Table 1: Total number of deaths where COVID-19 was recorded as the underlying cause of death in NHS Highland hospitals between the 1st of January 2020 to 31st December 2020

Total number of deaths where COVID-19 was recorded as the underlying Hospital Location cause of death* 14 RNI Community Hospital 9 Community Hospital 8 Lorn & Islands Hospital 6 General Hospital 5 Mid-Argyll Community Hospital and Integrated Care Centre 1-4 1-4 Victoria Hospital 1-4 1-4

*To conform to Disclosure Control Policy, where the number of deaths were less than 5 in a location, it is not possible to provide the exact number of events.

I hope this information is helpful. If you are unhappy with my response, I am very happy to discuss this with you further. Alternatively you have the right to ask for an internal review by making a formal request in writing to:

Freedom of Information Officer NHS Highland Assynt House Beechwood Park Inverness, IV2 3BW or email [email protected]

Your request should explain why you wish a review to be carried out and should be made within forty working days of receiving this letter.

If you remain dissatisfied following the investigation of your review, then you have the right to appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner within 6 months of the date of receiving the review response. Contact details are as follows:

Scottish Information Commissioner Kinburn Castle Doubledykes Road St Andrews KY16 9DS

Telephone: 01334 464610 Fax: 01334 464611 e-mail: www.itspublicknowledge.info/Appeal

Yours sincerely

Heather Campbell Freedom of Information Officer

On behalf of Mirian Morrison Clinical Governance Development Manager