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Written question asked by Lord Kamall (Conservative) on Tuesday, 24 March 2026, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 9 April 2026. It was answered by Baroness Merron (Labour) on Monday, 30 March 2026 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Mental Illness: Suicide

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking at the national level to ensure that International Classifications of Diseases for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics-11 coding practices in the NHS capture the role of psychiatric illness in cases of organ failure or suicide.

Answer

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for coding causes of death using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD‑10). This is separate from hospital morbidity coding undertaken within the National Health Service. The response below therefore relates to morbidity coding and applies to cases of attempted suicide and organ failure for patients admitted to hospital alive.

ICD-11 is the International Classification of Diseases for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics, Eleventh Revision, and is not yet approved as an Information Standard under section 250 of the Health and Social Care Act, and so ICD‑10 remains the mandated classification for NHS morbidity data.

Under current national coding guidance, all conditions identified in the medical record by the responsible consultant as relevant to the episode of care are coded. Where a clinical link has been established between a psychiatric condition and outcomes such as organ failure or an episode of attempted suicide, each of these conditions is coded in line with this guidance.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL15914
Session
2024-26
Subjects
Mental illness Organs Suicide
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk