'Accident crisis' warning as number of deaths reaches all-time high

The UK is grappling with an unprecedented rise in accidental deaths, with figures showing a staggering 42% increase over the past decade.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has sounded the alarm, declaring that the nation is "facing an accident crisis". Statistics from England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have collectively reported more than 20,000 fatalities annually due to accidents, which have now become the leading cause of preventable death among individuals under 40, particularly with over half occurring at home.

The financial toll of these incidents is also significant, costing the UK nearly £12 billion each year, including £6 billion for NHS care and £5.9 billion from lost productivity due to work absences.

The report highlighted a stark increase in accident-related hospital admissions for serious injuries, which have surged by 48% over the last two decades in England, with over 740,000 people admitted after accidents in 2022/23. In Scotland, accidental deaths have soared by 60%, while Wales saw a 42% rise, and Northern Ireland experienced a 67% increase since 2013.

Falls accounted for almost half (46%) of all accidental deaths in 2022, followed by poisoning at 26%, and road traffic or transport incidents at 7%. The NHS faced substantial pressure, with more than 4.4 million bed days dedicated to treating patients with accident-related injuries in England last year, amounting to an estimated cost of £4.6 billion.

A bed day is when a patient is admitted as an inpatient and stays overnight in a hospital bed. Accidents have led to roughly 5.2 million bed days across the UK, costing the NHS an estimated £5.4 billion over the past year.

In addition, accidents accounted for about seven million A&E visits last year, incurring an additional cost of £613 million, thus raising the total cost to the NHS due to accidents to at least £6 billion annually. Moreover, nearly 29 million working days were lost to accidents across the UK in 2022/23 – which is 10 times more than were lost because of strikes.

This loss has resulted in a combined cost of £5.9 billion to UK businesses, highlighted the report. RoSPA has made an urgent call for the Government to implement a National Accident Prevention Strategy to "save lives, boost the economy and free up capacity in the NHS".

Becky Hickman, the society's chief executive emphasised: "We must take action now to stop further preventable deaths and serious injuries – accidents are avoidable and do not need to happen."

She wasted no time highlighting the severity of the situation, stating: "The UK is facing an accident crisis."

Ominously, she added: "We are all substantially more likely to suffer a serious accident today than we were 20 years ago."

And she warned that the wider implications were significant: "Even those who have never been involved in an accident are still suffering, as increasing numbers of accidents are choking the UK economy and engulfing the NHS – taking up bed space, money, time and resources that could be directed to other serious illnesses."