26.03.11
Accidental injury leads to thousands of deaths
There is significant variation in deaths and hospital admissions due to injury across England, according to research by the South West Public Health Observatories (SWPHO).
A new online data tool, Injury Profiles, is launched today to demonstrate the differences in injury rates that lead to death or admission to hospital across England.
The data, which covers 2008-2010, found that almost 11,000 people die each year from accidental injuries, including 2,000 from transport accidents and nearly 3,300 from falls from a height. This equates to approximately 5,400 years of life lost, based on a lifespan of 75 years.
The local authority with the highest rate of deaths by injury was Melton in Leicestershire, with 29 people per 100,000, while the lowest rate belonged to Runnymede in Surrey which had a rate of 5.5 per 100,000.
In 2010/11, there were over 650,000 emergency admissions to hospital due to accidents. Land transport accidents admission rates varied from 189.8 admissions per 100,000 people in Boston, Lincolnshire to 48.8 admissions per 100,000 people in Kingston upon Thames, London. Falls admission rates in the over-65s varied from 4,844.4 per 100,000 in Waltham Forest, London, to 1,259.4 in Eden, Cumbria.
SWPHO director, Dr Julia Verne said: “Years of life lost due to injuries are high. There are close to 11,000 deaths from injury each year. Most of these are preventable, making injuries a serious public health concern. Injuries don’t often make the headlines and are consequently something of a ‘hidden’ public health issue. This needs to change. We know that they disproportionately affect the young, the old and the least well off.
“The Injury Profiles mean that we can map variation and start asking serious questions about why these differences exist.”
Errol Taylor from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) said: “Injury Profiles will not only enable accident prevention resources to be targeted effectively, by highlighting where problems lie, but they will also be extremely useful in evaluating investment in prevention and providing the evidence base for accident prevention as a cost-effective public health initiative.”
Other statistics showed:
There were 137,264 admissions in children aged under 18 due to accidental injury, with the highest rate of admissions in Liverpool (235.1 per 100,000) and the lowest rate in Three Rivers, Hertfordshire (69.7 per 100,000).
Poisoning accounted for more than 123,200 admissions, the rate varying from 539 per 100,000 in Middlesbrough to 67.8 per 100,000 in Wokingham.
Falls from a height or from one level to another accounted for over 51,500 admissions, the rate varying from 165.9 in Halton in the North West to 42.9 per 100,000 in East Hertfordshire.
Alcohol use is estimated to have accounted for more than 167,000 admissions due to injury, the rate varying from 617.9 per 100,000 in Lincoln to 95.9 per 100,000 in Wokingham
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