NHS crisis causing continued higher-than-normal levels of death

There was a 41% increase in excess deaths due to accidental falls between June and October 2022, when ‘delays in admission may have played a role’. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

The crisis in the NHS is leading to continued higher-than-usual death levels in England and Wales, experts have said.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal that almost 170,000 more people than normal died in England and Wales between March 2020, when coronavirus was declared a pandemic, and the end of 2022 – 11% higher than the five-year average.