DEATHS in winter in Scotland last year reached their lowest recorded level for more than 60 years, new figures have revealed.
Data from National Records of Scotland (NRS) showed there were 18,657 deaths from November 2013 to February 2014 - the lowest registered total since records began in 1951/52.
The number of "additional" deaths in the winter months was the second-lowest recorded, with an estimated 1,600 more fatalities. That is a drop of 400 on the winter of 2012/13.
NRS chief executive Tim Ellis said the additional winter deaths were usually from conditions such as hypothermia and influenza, as well as respiratory and circulatory diseases such as pneumonia, coronary heart disease and stroke."
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