About us
We harness information from death investigations to drive action that saves lives.
Why do we need a Tracker?
In the UK, there is no centralised system to collect, analyse and learn from avoidable deaths. The Preventable Deaths Tracker (PDT) is here to change this.
It started with a PDT for England and Wales in 2020. With support from the charity Changing Ideas, we expanded into Scotland in 2026.
There are 25% more avoidable deaths in Scotland than in England and Wales, and significantly fewer deaths that have an investigation in Scotland.
Despite legislative changes in 2016 requiring responses to recommendations from Fatal Accident Inquiries (FAIs), there is no mechanism to determine whether such responses have been made. The PDT has built this to track responses to recommendations, and much more….
Our mission
The core purpose of the Preventable Deaths Tracker is to save lives by enabling learning and prevention of avoidable and premature deaths through evidence-based vigilance.
Our work
The Preventable Deaths Tracker is the first of its kind globally. It makes information from death investigations usable and accessible so that real-time analytics, statistics, and research can be systematically conducted, reproduced and replicated.
- Build tools: We automate the collection and analysis of information from FAIs to provide databases and interactive dashboards.
- Track transparency: We create tracking systems to examine responses to recommendations, ensuring open justice, shared learning & accountability.
- Conduct research: We have developed reproducible research methods that enable the surveillance and monitoring of safety concerns, which are widely published in academic journals & policy documents.
- Education: We train the next generation and build capacity to create future leaders in the field of death prevention. We also use our platform to raise public awareness of the death investigation system.
Our aims
- 1: Create robust and efficient systems for disseminating real-time analytics, statistics, and lessons from avoidable deaths.
- 2: Develop methods for identifying and monitoring safety signals and trends from death investigations and organisational responses.
- 3: Use our research to provide an evidence base for improving the practice of death investigations, reviews, and policies that seek to minimise harm and prevent deaths.
Our team
Dr Georgia Richards
Founder & Director
Epidemiologist & Research Scientist | AI+ Academic Senior Fellow, King’s College London | Senior Associate Tutor, University of Oxford
The Scottish PDT received a donation from the charity Changing Ideas to hire two Research Assistants and build this platform. We are also supported by expert advisors who volunteer their time to support our mission.
Eden Hatch
Research Assistant
King’s College London
Chinelo Nnadi
Research Assistant
King’s College London
Gillian Mawdsley
Solicitor (Scotland) & Associate Lecturer in Law | Advisor to the PDT
The Open University
Key milestones of the Preventable Deaths Tracker
Donate and Support the Preventable Deaths Tracker
If you believe that we should learn from preventable deaths, we invite you to contribute.