Preventable Deaths Tracker (learning to prevent future deaths)

4WardEverUK • 8 July 2023

source: Preventable Deaths Tracker

first published: June 2023

Image Credit: Jack Moreh at www.FreeRangeStock.com


One in five deaths are preventable every year. But less than 1% have a coroners’ Prevention of Future Deaths report (PFD) written.


PFDs are written by coroners and sent to individuals or organisations that have the power to act. Those that receive PFDs must respond to the coroner within 56 days outlining actions taken, proposed or provide an explanation for inaction.


However, there is no mechanism to ensure that responses are received, actions are taken, and lessons are learnt to prevent future deaths.


The Preventable Deaths Tracker is trying to change this.

See the research here >

The team

This project was founded by Dr Georgia Richards in 2020 with support from a team of academics, clinicians and coroners from the University of Oxford, the University of Birmingham, and London.


The team has been undertaken research on coroners’ Prevention of Future Deaths reports (PFDs) and acted as expert witnesses in coronial courts and other legal cases related to PFDs for decades.

Preventable Deaths Tracker's work

"Our work spans three areas, including 1) research, 2) education, and 3) communication.


"We design studies to answer important questions for public health and safety. We write scientific reports and academic publications, with more than 20 published to date.


"We conduct training for users of the Preventable Deaths Database, the writing of PFDs, and advise on digital processes to improve the PFD system."


Find out more here >

share this article on social media

Daniel Morgan
by 4WardEverUK 29 August 2026
On 10 March 1987 Daniel Morgan left The Golden Lion pub after a drink with a colleague. As he strolled across the car park to his vehicle, Daniel was attacked from behind with an axe.
migrant boat
by 4WardEverUK 27 August 2026
Newest route-based data shows a spike in fatalities among people seeking a better life, from the Bay of Bengal to the Atlantic Ocean, many of them falling prey to traffickers along the way.
refugee camp
by 4WardEverUK 26 August 2026
WorkersWorld said; The Guardian’s occasional progressive stances can cause confusion in understanding who are our allies and who are our enemies in the struggle against imperialism.
Ring binder
by 4WardEverUK 26 August 2026
Almost half of defendants facing offences in magistrates’ courts appeared without a lawyer in the latest available data, creating a high risk’ of miscarriages of justice.
court gavel
by 4WardEverUK 26 August 2026
Wrongful convictions are often defined by numbers: the number of lives upended, the number of years unjustly served, and the number of systemic failures that allowed such injustices.
People’s Tribunal On Police Killings
by 4WardEverUK 25 August 2026
The People’s Tribunal On Police Killings - European Action. This is a two day event to be held in October 2026, escalating our campaigns for justice internationally.
More Articles