Poor in Scotland twice as likely to die in accidents as middle classes

ADULTS and children from the most deprived areas of Scotland are twice as likely to die from an accidental injury than those from the most affluent postcodes, new figures show.

Some 1,364 deaths were recorded in 2010 in an Office of National Statistics (ONS) report for NHS Scotland as due to “unintentional injuries” such as road accidents, poisoning, and violent crimes like stabbings and shootings. However, the vast majority were from falls.

Of these deaths, the bottom fifth of the population in terms of deprivation was listed as having a Standard Mortality Ratio (SMR) for children of 119.3, compared with just 54.7 in the top fifth.

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Figures for adults were similar with an SMR of 125.2 for the bottom 20 per cent and 65.1 for the top 20 per cent.

The SMR is a measure of deaths and is based on a calculation of actual and expected numbers of fatalities.

“Unintentional injury” is the NHS classification used where the victim has not deliberately inflicted injury on him or herself, but is admitted to hospital or dies as a result.

The report showed the most common reason for emergency hospital admission due to an accident in 2010-11 was falling over, at 55 per cent of all admissions. The second most frequent category was for “other” reasons (17.2 per cent). Traffic accidents accounted for just 5 per cent of emergency stays in hospital.

Falling was also the most common cause of accidental death, with 80 per cent of deaths by falling accounted for by the 75-plus age group.

Elizabeth Lumsden, community safety manager at the Royal Scoiety for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) Scotland, said: “There needs to be more investigation into why deprivation should be such a crucial factor in the prevalence of injuries. Historically, there has been a link between deprivation and certain types of accidental injuries.

“These latest figures would suggest there is more of a relationship between injuries over and above those from pedestrian and fire-related accidents and this would certainly warrant further investigation.

“Those who are more income-deprived suffer poorer health and we know this is a major factor in falls which is one of the biggest causes of death and injury – especially in older people.”

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The report did not specify the reasons for the disparity between Scotland’s richest and poorest citizens, but it is thought that substandard housing, poor health and more crime in deprived areas as well as greater middle class awareness about child safety were relevant.

The report also revealed that in geographical terms, the highest recorded number of accidents was in the west of Scotland – Glasgow City local authority is home to 31 per cent of the most deprived areas in Scotland.

However, Glasgow was only slightly over-represented in proportion to its size, with 14 per cent of emergency hospital admissions in 2010-11 for its 11 per cent of the Scottish population.

Edinburgh, with 8 per cent of the Scottish population, had 9.3 per cent of admissions, also slightly more than would be expected of its size.

Accidental injuries accounted for one in seven emergency hospital admissions for children in 2010-11, and one in 19 childhood deaths.

Boys and men accounted for the majority of emergency hospital admissions for accidents in 2010-11 until the age of 74, when the rate of women admitted tripled, from fewer than 1,500 per 100,000 population at ages 15-74 to around 4,400 per 100,000 population at 75 and over.

SNP work and pensions spokeswoman Dr Eilidh Whiteford MP said: “This report underlines the obvious connection between people’s opportunities and welfare and deprivation. It also demonstrates the urgency there is to equip the Scottish Parliament with the powers so that it can tackle poverty.

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“The SNP recognises that the Westminster-controlled welfare system is broken and needs to be fixed, but not at the expense of our most vulnerable people.

“We support a welfare system that is simpler, makes work pay and lifts people out of poverty. However this approach is being fundamentally undermined by the UK government’s deep and damaging cuts to benefits and services that will impact on some of the most vulnerable people.”