HEALTH chiefs are monitoring a spike in deaths this winter, which is thought to have been caused by the cold weather and respiratory illnesses.

In Blackburn with Darwen, there were 142 deaths last month, up from 128 in December and 120 during January last year. This represented a 13 per cent increase against the average for January and December 2014.

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And across Lancashire, there were 1,371 deaths last month, up from 1,282 in December and 1,162 in January last year. This was 12 per cent higher than the average for January and December 2014.

Influenza has been more of a problem in other parts of the country this winter, however, and the whole of England and Wales saw a 23 per cent increase in deaths last month, compared to the average for January and December last year.

Public Health England said the spike is likely to be the result of circulating influenza and a period of cold weather.

Dominic Harrison, director of public health for Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: “We are aware of a recent national trend of excess mortality in those over 65-years-old reported recently by Public Health England. It seems this has been observed since mid-December 2014 and is related to flu and respiratory diseases. Locally we are working with Public Health England to keep this under review.”

Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, Lancashire County Council’s director of public health, said: “There are always fluctuations in the number of deaths, particularly during the winter months when people with certain conditions are more susceptible to illnesses such as flu.

“We are not aware of anything specifically that could have contributed to the increased number of deaths this January in Lancashire. We are monitoring the pattern on an ongoing basis.”

As previously reported, separate figures have suggested a fall in life expectancy among over-85s in some areas, and an alert was recently raised by Mr Harrison.

He has suggested that huge cuts to social care budgets have been contributing to this.