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[MI] Tracking Healthcare Activity and Outcomes for Shielded Patients, England - up to 28 September 2020
Open data- Publication Date:
- 8 Oct 2020
- Geographic Coverage:
- England
- Date Range:
- 01 Oct 2019 to 28 Sep 2020
Summary
Shielding is one of the government interventions aimed at reducing mortality from COVID-19. Those considered at highest clinical risk of mortality and severe morbidity from COVID-19 (defined as Clinically Extremely Vulnerable) were identified to be on the Shielded Patient List (SPL).
These individuals were asked to stay at home and avoid face-to-face contact for a period of at least 12 weeks during the peak of the pandemic in the UK.
This publication considers data relating to emergency admissions, mortality and positive COVID-19 tests for a subset of patients on the English SPL compared with an age-matched sample of the general population.
The open data file includes the underlying counts and rates to allow for analysis, modelling and planning to take place to aid the response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Key Facts
What the data cannot show
This report does not evaluate the impact of shielding as it is not possible to reliably estimate what the emergency admission and mortality rates would have been if shielding had not been implemented.
Individuals on the SPL had higher rates of emergency admissions than those in the age-matched general population sample before the pandemic. This rate dropped sharply for both of these groups in April 2020.
The mortality rate for individuals on the SPL peaked and started reducing sooner than for the age-matched general population sample.
Amongst those who were tested under Pillar 1 and were in the SPL or the age-matched general population sample, the numbers reported positive peaked in early April 2020 in both groups.