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Preventable Deaths Tracker

A platform to learn lessons from PFDs to prevent future deaths

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Preventable Deaths Tracker

A platform to learn lessons from PFDs to prevent future deaths.

In England and Wales, regulations are in place to capture information on preventable deaths, called Prevention of Future Deaths reports, PFDs, or Regulation 28 Letters. Yet little is being done to use this information to reduce premature deaths.

We, therefore, created the Preventable Deaths Tracker to collate this information and make it useable.

We also share systematic analyses of this information, to identify trends, warn against repeat hazards and highlight important lessons, to improve public safety and reduce avoidable harms.


What’s in the Database?

As of 22 June 2022, there were 4001 PFDs on the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary website, an average of 460 PFDs published each year.

Prevention of Future Deaths reports (PFDs) in England and Wales published on the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary website from inception (July 2013) to 22nd June 2022.

What’s new?

NEWSLETTER: We’re now on Substack. Subscribe and stay up-to-date with our research and outreach.


EVIDENCE IN PARLIAMENT: We submitted evidence to the ‘Prevention’ inquiry, summarising our PFD research and recommendations to learn from preventable deaths.


NEW PODCAST: Hear founder, Dr Georgia Richards, present at the Chief Coroner’s Conference in Westminster.


NEW PUBLICATION: Oxford medical student, Harrison France, published an analysis of PFDs involving medicines in Drug Safety!


NEW PUBLICATION: Summer intern, Qingyang Zhang, published her work on >4000 PFDs in the Medico-Legal Journal!


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Prevention of Future Deaths reports.

On average, 1% of inquests are written as PFD reports every year (2014-2021), the lowest ratio in the whole pipeline.

An inquest is opened by a coroner, and is a fact-finding investigation used to determine when, where and how a person died. On average, inquests are opened on 53.8% of postmortems conducted every year (2014-2021).

A caveat to the pipeline is that inquests can be opened without a postmortem examination. From 2014 to 2021, 18.5% of inquests are opened without postmortems. 

Inquests can be concluded (a cause of death is determined), adjourned (postponed), or left open (no conclusion is reached regarding the cause of death).

Postmortem examinations is an examination of the body to determine the cause of death.

On average, postmortem is conducted on 38.8% of all reported deaths every year (2014-2021).

In 2021, 33% of all deaths were reported to coroners.