Barnsley’s number of excess deaths highest in South Yorkshire

A report, which examines Barnsley’s excess deaths between March 2020 to June 2022, states that the pandemic resulted in an ‘increase in deaths across the country and Barnsley was no exception.’

The term “excess deaths” refers to the number of deaths that are above the number expected, based on a baseline number over the previous five years.

Between March 2020 to June 2022, Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows that Barnsley has a total excess death rate (deaths from all causes) of 19.4 per cent, higher than the Yorkshire and Humber average of 11 per cent and higher than all other South Yorkshire local authority areas: 9.2 per cent in Sheffield; 14.3 per cent in Doncaster; and 14.8 per cent in Rotherham.

According to the ONS, between March 2020 and April 2021, Barnsley had a recorded 716 Covid-19 deaths and a rate of 250 per 100,000 population.

The report, to be examined by Barnsley Council’s overview and scrutiny committee, states: “Barnsley entered the pandemic with a population at greater risk from serious illness and death, and that the current way of measuring excess deaths does not consider population growth.

“Deprivation is a key factor throughout the analysis, highlighting once again the increased risk of serious illness and poorer health outcomes for those residents living in our most deprived communities.

“A growing and ageing population means that we would expect to see a slight increase in the number of excess deaths.”

The report adds that other challenges, such as the cost-of-living crisis and ‘extreme pressures on hospital and ambulance services’, ‘could worsen existing health inequalities and cause further fluctuations in our local excessdeaths data’.

The council say they will work with public health and other partners to ‘mobilise on chronic disease management, ensuring we do everything we can to make our population more resilient for future pandemics.’

” High levels of deprivation and health inequalities are not new for Barnsley and the findings of this report further highlight the need for a preventative model to reducing health inequalities, focusing on the wider determinants of health (such as housing, employment, and education).”