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Accidents are not inevitable - government taskforce sets priorities for action

  • Published date:
    10 October 2002

New data estimates accidents and injuries cost nearly £20 billion a year in London alone

Over 7000 people die each year in accidents on the road, in the home and in the workplace and accidents continue to be the main cause of death amongst young people. The cross-Government Taskforce report Preventing Accidental Injury - Priorities for Action published today shows where efforts must be focussed to continue to reduce the incidence and impact of accidental injury on society.

The report coincides with publication of new data which estimates the total economic cost of accidents and injuries in London at nearly £19.7 billion. A separate report by the London Health Observatory shows not only that 2,000 Londoners die untimely deaths from accidents and injuries, but 77,000 Londoners are admitted to hospital for injuries each year. The direct costs to health and social care are estimated at £290 million and £17 million to the criminal justice system.

Preventing Accidental Injury - Priorities for Action identifies the most effective ways of reducing accidents, many of which are already the subject of important Government initiatives and makes a number of recommendations for the future direction of this work. These include:

  • there must be a more united approach to accident prevention across Government and the NHS, with a strong lead at every level;
  • future efforts should be targetted on priority areas, particularly where there are marked inequalities;
  • public health has a key role to play in co-ordinating prevention and surveillance; and
  • better use should be made of the data already available, and it should be more standardised.

Hazel Blears, Public Health Minister, said:

"Accidental injury is too often seen as a fact of life that we all have to live with. But accidents are not inevitable. Much unintended injury can be avoided. Injury prevention can save lives and reduce long term suffering from disability; injury costs the NHS £2.2bn per annum so action to prevent injury offers real benefits to individuals, to society, and to the economy. I therefore welcome the Report of the Task Force.

"I particularly welcome the emphasis it places on preventing injury to children and older people, and on reducing the unequal impact of injuries on children and older people in the lowest social groups."

David Jamieson, Road Safety Minister said:

"This report highlights the need to reduce the terrible toll of death and injuries on our roads.

"Whilst Britain has one of the best road safety records in the world, we can and will do better. We are already making good progress towards our road casualty reduction targets for 2010, in particular to improve the greater rate of casualties amongst people in disadvantaged communities."

Melanie Johnson Minister in the Department of Trade and Industry said:

"I welcome the Task Force report and the call for joined up action across Government and agencies to address the problem. These new figures reveal the shocking impact of accidents upon individuals and society. The burden of injury is particularly heavy on the most disadvantaged people."

Chris Leslie Minister in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister said:

"As Minister for fire safety, I am pleased to welcome this report. There is a clear inequality in accidental fire deaths, with children from less well off backgrounds 16 times more likely to die in the event of a fire than the well off. This report will make a sound contribution to reducing this death toll".

Richard Caborn, Sports Minister said:

"The Task Force Report highlights the ways in which the government is providing a co-ordinated response to injury prevention across our society.

"Accidental injury can occur at all levels of sport and it is important that, wherever possible, we take appropriate action to help prevent injury through participation in sport.

"I am pleased to say that following publication, at the end of 2001, of a report produced by the Government's Working group on sport safety and medicine UK Sport is now undertaking significant work aimed at improving safety and medical provision for sport in this country."

Notes to editor

1. The Report can be downloaded from the Department of Health website on www.doh.gov.uk/accidents Copies can also be purchased from The Stationery Office, ISBN o 11 322477X.

2. The terms of reference of the taskforce were: To advise the Chief Medical Officer on:

  1. The most important priorities for immediate action in order to meet the targets;
  2. The development of an implementation plan, consulting with other stakeholders as necessary;
  3. Whether the necesary delivery structures are in places to take forward the implementation plan;
  4. How progress on the implementation plan should be monitored; and
  5. How to develop and publicise a more united approach to accident prevention across Government and the NHS.

3. The members of the Accidental Injury Task Force were:

  • Prof. Don Nutbeam, Head of Public health Division, Department of Health (Chairman)
  • Keith Bailey, Secretary, Association of Chief Police Officers
  • Wendy Broome, Head of Road Safety Unit, Herfordshire County Council
  • Kevin Byrne, Home Safety Division, Department of Trade and Industry
  • Yvonne Carter, Professor of General Practice and Primary Care, Queen Mary and
  • Westfield College, London
  • Bill Hills, Road Safety Division, Department for Transport
  • John Howard, Director of Safety Policy, Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents
  • Ashley Martin, Director of the Institute of Home Safety
  • Dr Stephen Morton, Director of Public Health, East Lancs Health Authority
  • David Moss, Chief Executive, Southampton Hospital NHS Trust
  • The late Roger Peal, Head of Road Safety Division, DTLR (now Dept for Transport)
  • John Ransford, Local Government Association
  • Michael Reed, Head of Community Fire Safety, now Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
  • Dr Gabriel Scally, Regional Director of Public Health, NHS South West Region
  • Carol Sherriff, Director, Child Accident Prevention Trust
  • Dr David Stone, Professor of Paediatric Epidemiology, Glasgow University
  • Dr Elizabeth Towner,Department of Community Child Care, University of Newcastle
  • upon Tyne
  • Heather Ward, Centre for Transport Studies, University College, London
  • Jane Willis, Safety Policy Directorate, Health & Safety Executive.

4. The burden/costs of accidental injury were:

  • Injury is the leading cause of child death in England and Wales. In the period 1998-2000 in England, 1003 children aged 0-14 years died as a result of accidental injury.
  • Falls (62%), road traffic accidents (12%), fire (3%) and suffocation (3%) cause the largest number of fatal injuries in older people.
  • There were 320,283 road accident casualties in Great Britain in 2000, of whom 16,184 were child pedestrians (0-15yrs), and 5,832 were older pedestrians (60yrs and above).
  • There were some 4,000 accidental deaths in the home in 1999. Half were adults of working age (15-64yrs).
  • The burden of accidental death and injury is disproportionately heavy on the most disadvantaged in society.
  • Residential fire deaths for children are 15 times greater for children in social class V compared to those in social class I.
  • Child pedestrian deaths are 5 times greater.
  • The cost to individuals, to the NHS, and to society of these deaths and injuries is considerable.
  • The estimated cost to the NHS in England of injury in 2000-1 is £2.2bn.
  • The estimated value of preventing road traffic accidents in Great Britain in 2000 was £12.2bn.
  • The cost to society of home accidents in the UK was estimated in 1996 as £25bn pa.

5. The priorities for intervention were:

  • The Task Force adopted children and young adults, and older people for priority attention.
  • The burden of injury is greatest in: falls by older people, road accidents, and dwelling fires, in that order.
  • The areas where interventions could have the biggest impact in reducing accidents in the short-term are falls at or near home, road accidents, dwelling fires, and play and recreation.

6. Too high a price. Injuries and accidents in Londonis published today by the London Health Observatory. The full report and an executive summary can be downloaded from the LHO website on www.lho.org.uk. Copies can also be obtained from the London Health Observatory, Tel 020 7307 2826 or email Helen.Lewis@lho.org.uk

  • Contact:
    Press officer
  • Address:
    Media Centre, Department of Health
    London
    SW1A 2NL
  • Phone:
    Media Centre
    020 7210 5221

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