RoSPA Scotland : Statistics
In the UK every year, almost 4,000 people die in home accidents and 2.7 million visit their local accident and emergency departments seeking help. In Scotland this translates to 226 deaths in 2003. The graph below shows a dramatic decrease over the last twenty years: in 1980 there were over three times as many deaths.
However, in 2003 there were 17,269 hospital admissions, showing a dramatic increase over the same period:
Traditionally, home accidents statistics have been very difficult to find, especially on a local basis. For the UK, you can now get detailed statistical information on Accident and Emergency attendances from the DTI's Home and Leisure Accident Surveillance System (HASS and LASS). New statistics are no longer being collected, but RoSPA has been given a copy of the database from 1978 to 2002. You can now search the HASS and LASS database on-line at www.hassandlassorg.uk
For Scotland, the latest available NHS Scotland information can be seen at www.isdscotland.org/isd/ and statistics at www.isdscotland.org/isd/3664.html. Here you will find information on deaths and injuries requiring at least one overnight stay in hospital. This is only the tip of the iceberg though, as many, many more people will visit their local GP or Accident & Emergency Department. Data seems to suggest that, proportionately in Scotland, around 1,000 people are seeking some sort of medical attention EVERY DAY, following a home accident.
The benefits of taking preventative measures are clear and quantifiable in terms of both health and economic costs, resulting in:
- The potential to save lives
- Improved quality of life for all
- Reductions in the cost of acute care
- Reductions in the cost of continued community support required after hospital discharge.
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RoSPA is a registered charity: Registered Charity No: 207823 Patron: Her Majesty the Queen RoSPA Head Office: Edgbaston Park, 353 Bristol Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B5 7ST, UK |
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