Bid to cut injury deaths

Drink drive initiatives could slash injury rates

Doctors leaders have asked for a national body dedicated to saving some of the 20,000 people a year who die following injuries.

In addition to this horrific toll, at least 30m need medical treatment.

It is the single most common cause of death in the under 40 age group, and the UK's record is poor compared to the rest of Europe.

In their report "Injury Prevention", the British Medical Association (BMA) called for each of the four UK countries to get their own agency for injury prevention, headed by a single government minister.

The cost of injury prevention is entirely paid for by the avoided treatment and property damage costs

Dr Vivienne Nathanson, of the BMA

Reducing injuries

These bodies would then concentrate on reducing injuries caused on roads, in the home, through violence and other incidents, as well as collecting better statistics on rates of accidents and injuries.

Anti-drink driving campaigns and initiatives at reducing domestic violence are just two ways the BMA feels the new body could cut injury risks.

Injury statistics

More than 20,000 people die annually as a result of injuries in the UK

30 million visit their doctor for treatment each year following accidents

About 4,600 people aged 75 and over die from injuries, mainly falls

More than half the deaths of 15-24-year-olds are due to injury

The BMA's Board of Science and Education also called for more research into the long-term disabilities suffered through injuries.

Treating injuries across the board accounts for 5% of the NHS budget and costs the UK more than £10 billion a year in direct and indirect bills.

Injuries cause more than half the deaths of people aged 15 to 24 and the elderly and the poor also at high risk.

UK children at high risk of death from fire

The safety rates in the UK compare poorly with parts of the rest of Europe.

Deaths from fire among children in the UK are three-and-half-times those of Austria, while British youngsters are five times more likely to die from poisoning than those in Sweden and four times more at risk of being killed in a road accident.

Europe rates

If the UK could achieve the lowest European death rate for each injury type, child injury deaths could be reduced by 35 to 40%.

The number of deaths from injury in the UK have fallen by around 8% over the last decade.

Dr Vivienne Nathanson, head of Science and Health Policy at the BMA said: "Unlike many areas if illness prevention, effective measures of injury prevention can often achieve a very rapid reduction in mortality and morbidity if implemented fully.

"Prevention is not cheap, but in many cases, the cost of injury prevention is entirely paid for by the avoided treatment and property damage costs."