Nearly 800 deaths a year from accidents in Northern Ireland, figures show

Nearly 800 people died and 10,000 were injured as a result of accidents in Northern Ireland in 2023/24, statistics have shown.

Northern Ireland’s accidental death rate of 39 per 100,000, compared to the UK average of 34 per 100,000, means people in the region are 23% more likely to die in an accident than those in England.

Falls and accidental poisonings (including alcohol and drugs) are the biggest killers, with other causes including road traffic collisions, choking, and exposure to smoke.

Safety charity the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is calling on the Government to implement a National Accidents Prevention Strategy to tackle the “public health emergency”.

As well as the disparity between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, there were also varying rates of accidental deaths across socio-economic backgrounds.

Those in the most deprived 50% of the population were almost three times more likely to be admitted to hospital than those in the less deprived 50%.

RoSPA estimates that immediate treatment costs to the NHS run to £6 billion annually, and accidents account for a minimum of 5.2 million bed days – reducing capacity and driving up waiting lists across the health service.

CEO of RoSPA Becky Hickman said accidents “devastate lives in an instant”.

“They are often sudden, violent, and shocking, leaving families and communities to cope with consequences that can last a lifetime,” she said,

“What makes this devastation even harder to bear is the knowledge that so many of these incidents are entirely preventable.”

Dr Sally-Anne Wilson, vice president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), said A&E departments “see first-hand the rising impact of accidental injuries, particularly among older people”.

“The patients I worry about most are those who fall from standing height, often in their own homes, and arrive in the ED with serious injuries such as hip or rib fractures,” she said.

“These seemingly simple accidents can have devastating consequences.”

She added: “Prevention must be a priority. Anything we can do to reduce the number and severity of avoidable injuries will make a meaningful difference to patient outcomes and help relieve pressure on a stretched emergency care system.”