Rodney P Jones

Background: most spending on health occurs in the last few months of life. This study explored the number of deaths in England and their relationship to healthcare funding.

Methods: post hoc analysis

Results: the number of deaths range from 3.3 to 15.1/1000/year, and the number of deaths per general practitioner from 5.2 to 27.3/year. Hospital deaths range from 12 to 52/1000 admissions. The correlation between the allocation index used for funding and deaths is not perfect and suggests that some regions may get up to17% less and others 14% more funding than is equitable.

Conclusion: there is considerable variation in the prevalence of death throughout England. If healthcare funding considered the local number of deaths it would be more equitable.