To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many deaths there were where clostridium difficile was mentioned on the death certificate in each of the last five years, broken down by hospital trust. (111002)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 24 January 2007:

As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many deaths there were where Clostridium difficile was mentioned on the death certificate in each of the last five years, broken down by hospital trust. (111002)

Special analyses of deaths involving Clostridium difficile are undertaken annually by the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales. These are published in Health Statistics Quarterly. The latest year for which such figures are available is 2004. Information on the numbers of deaths between 1999 and 2004 involving Clostridium difficile were published in Health Statistics Quarterly 30 in May 2006.¹ Data on Clostridium difficile-related deaths in 2005 will be published in Health Statistics Quarterly 33 on February 22^nd 2007. No figures are routinely available for NHS Trusts.

¹ Office for National Statistics (2006) Report: Deaths involving Clostridium difficile: England and Wales, 1999-2004. Health Statistics Quarterly 30, 56-60.