More than a quarter of all deaths avoidable

Of the 58,108 deaths in 2019, 27% of them were considered avoidable according to statistics published today by National Records of Scotland. 

Other key findings show that in 2019:

• Cancer and circulatory diseases were the most common causes of avoidable deaths, accounting for 34% and 25% of all 15,519 avoidable deaths respectively.
• The highest rates of avoidable deaths were in Glasgow City, Dundee City and Inverclyde.
• The lowest rates were in East Renfrewshire, East Dunbartonshire and Shetland.
• After adjusting for age, avoidable mortality rates in the most deprived areas were 4.5 times those in the least deprived areas.

Avoidable mortality is a measure of deaths from causes for which all or most deaths are considered avoidable through timely and effective healthcare and public health interventions.

Pete Whitehouse, Director of Statistical Services said:

“The avoidable mortality rate has decreased by a third since 2001 however there has been very little change over the last 5 years. It is also true that whilst avoidable mortality rates have improved across Scotland since 2001, the scale of improvement has been smaller in our more deprived communities.”

The publication Avoidable Mortality 2019 and an infographic summary is available on the NRS website.