The NHS takes care of all our health problems. That is the hope but it is a big money machine, one costing billions. People make their living out of it. Looking good matters to them. Massaging the numbers becomes cheating or even outright fraud. Statistics can expose the truth. They can be used to hide it. They did not protect us from Harold Shipman [ 1999 ], the medic who got around 250 kills. Then there was the earlier case of John Bodkin Adams [ 1957 ] who killed 160 oldies. Lessons were learned? NO! These cases were about murder for money. The statistical question is ultimately about financing a very expensive firm.
Rigging The Death Rate
If patients keep dying it is inconvenient - make that embarrassing. Dead men tell no tales but relatives do. One answer is cheating. It works. Statistics can tell the truth. They can also hide it. Coding deaths as Z51.5, which means old age can make the picture look different, much better.
