A new “Injury Profiles” data resource has been launched by the South West Public Health Observatory (SWPHO) on behalf of Public Health Observatories in England.
Data has shown that the rates of people killed and admitted to hospital because of injury differs dramatically from one local authority to another. Based on data for 2008 to 2010, profiles showed that nearly 11,000 people die from accidental injuries in England each year, including more than 2,000 from land transport accidents and nearly 3,300 from falls.
The local authority that had the highest rate of accidental death was Melton, Leicestershire, with a rate of 29 deaths per 100,000 people, while the lowest was in Runnymede, Surrey, with a rate of 5.5 per 100,000.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
Dr Julia Verne, director of SWPHO, said: “The injury profiles mean that we can map variation and start asking serious questions about why these differences exist. Possible explanations are social and economic differences between areas, or differences in injury prevention efforts and access to NHS and care services.
“There is a great opportunity to improve injury prevention at a local level and these profiles are timely in helping us do so.”
