Tag: accidental deaths

Scotland is the most dangerous nation in the UK for accidental death

SCOTLAND HAS THE HIGHEST RATE OF ACCIDENTAL DEATHS IN UK 

  • 51 people per 100,000 died in accidents in Scotland, compared to an average of 34 across the whole UK in 2023/24 
  • People in Scotland 62% more likely to die in an accident than people in England 
  • Falls are the biggest cause of accidental death in Scotland 
  • People are almost three times as likely to die of accidental poisoning in Scotland than in England 
  • Fatal accidents in the UK have risen by a rate of 8% in one year and accidents now kill over 23,000 people annually – more than the capacity of the 02 Arena 
  • Almost 900,000 people – the equivalent of the entire population of Devon – are admitted to hospital due to accidents every year 
  • Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) calls on the Government to implement a National Accidents Prevention Strategy to tackle this public health emergency 

Scotland has the highest rate of accidental deaths in the UK, reveals a new report from safety charity the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).

Accidents killed 51 per 100,000 people in Scotland in 2023/24, compared to a UK-wide average of 34. This makes Scotland the most dangerous UK nation for accidental deaths, ahead of Wales (44 deaths per 100,000 people), Northern Ireland (39) and England (32), and means people in Scotland are 62% more likely to die in an accident than people in England. 

There were also stark differences within Scotland itself, with those in the more deprived 50% of the population almost 28% more likely to be admitted to hospital than those in the less deprived 50%. 

Deaths from accidents are rising across the UK, and hospital admissions due to accidents are putting immense pressure on the NHS. RoSPA found that an estimated 23,000 people – more than the capacity of the 02 Arena – lose their lives to accidents every year, while almost 900,000 people were admitted to hospital, the equivalent of the population of Devon passing through the NHS. 

There was an 8% increase in the rate of all accidental deaths across the UK in 2023/24, with falls being the biggest killer across all nations. However, deaths from accidental poisoning (including drugs and alcohol) are particularly high in Scotland, with 21 people per 100,000 dying of this cause in 2023 – compared to 11 in Wales, 9 in Northern Ireland and 8 in England – meaning people in Scotland are almost three timesas likely to be killed in an accidental poisoning than in England. 

Hospital admissions also rose by a rate of 3% over one year in Great Britain, including a 17% rate of increase in admissions caused by animals and 6% by poisonings. 

Accidents have a tragic impact, not just on individuals, families and communities, but society as a whole. Immediate treatment costs to the NHS run to £6 billion annually, not including follow-up rehabilitation and other costs, and accidents account for a minimum of 5.2 million bed days, reducing capacity and driving up waiting lists across the health service. Meanwhile, the UK economy loses another £6 billion a year in output due to lost working days. 

In 2024, RoSPA urged the Government to implement a National Accident Prevention Strategy to tackle accidents as a serious public health crisis. The charity also recently launched Towards a Safer Scotland, a manifesto for the 2026 Scottish Parliamentary Election, which sets out key priorities for accident prevention across Scotland. 

RoSPA’s Annual Review of Accidents now shows that, without dedicated action, the crisis in accidental deaths is getting even worse. These shocking figures only strengthen the case for a coordinated, cross-sector government response, in order to reduce the suffering caused by preventable deaths and injuries, lessen the burden on the NHS and economy, and make society safer for everyone. 

Becky Hickman, CEO of RoSPA, 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. What makes this devastation even harder to bear is the knowledge that so many of these incidents are entirely preventable. 

“Our Annual Review of Accidents shows we are still not doing enough to reduce avoidable harm, life-changing injuries and personal tragedies.

“From our roads to our workplaces, the homes we live in to where we spend our leisure time, people in Britain are at increasing and unacceptable risk of suffering a serious accident. And it is those who are already vulnerable – young children, the elderly, and people in deprived communities – who are in the greatest danger.    

“By keeping a close eye on trends, learning from patterns of injury, and acting on the evidence, we can help ensure that individuals, communities, and the wider society are better protected from the consequences of accidental injury.” 

RoSPA’s Annual Review of Accidents is endorsed by Chris Boardman CBE, Olympic Gold Medal-winning cyclist and Commissioner at Active Travel England: “Serious injuries and deaths on our roads are often treated as an unfortunate but inevitable part of everyday life. They are not. In most cases, they are predictable and preventable. 

“If we want more people to choose to walk, wheel or cycle, our streets must look and feel safe. Active Travel England is working with councils across the country to design safety into our streets, creating high-quality, joined-up networks that give people, especially children, real access to affordable, green and healthy transport.” 

Dr Sally-Anne Wilson, Vice President, Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), said: “Emergency 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. These seemingly simple accidents can have devastating consequences. 

“We know that older people are disproportionately affected by crowding in Emergency Departments, and that delays transferring them to inpatient wards are linked with longer hospital stays and increased mortality.  

“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.

“RCEM strongly supports RoSPA’s focus on this vital area of public health.” 

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The next Scottish Government must tackle the country’s shocking rise in accidental deaths 

  • Accidental deaths in Scotland have risen by 61% over the last decade, now exceeding 2,500 fatalities each year, the highest death rate of all the UK nations  
  • Falls account for 42% of all accidental deaths, with people in Scotland 45% more likely to die from a fall than those elsewhere in the UK 
  • The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) launches manifesto for the next Scottish Government to tackle the accident crisis  

Safety charity the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has warned that Scotland is experiencing a severe and worsening accidental death crisis, with fatalities rising by 61% over the past decade. 

Calling on the next Scottish Government to prioritise accident prevention as an urgent public health and economic issue, the charity has published an action plan of policy recommendations to tackle the crisis. 

RoSPA’s new Towards a Safer Scotland manifesto sets out evidence-led measures to reduce deaths and serious injuries across roads, homes, workplaces, and water environments, and is urging ministers and candidates to treat accidental harm with the same seriousness as other major health threats. 

Accidents now claim more than 2,500 lives annually in Scotland, with the nation recording an accidental death rate 56 per cent higher than the UK average. Falls are the leading cause, while transport-related fatalities and drowning incidents remain significantly above UK-wide levels.

The impact extends beyond personal tragedy: accidents cost the NHS billions each year and remove thousands from the workforce. People in deprived communities are also more likely to suffer an accident, compounding other health inequalities. 

RoSPA is proposing a series of targeted interventions including safer home design standards, mandatory driver eyesight testing, strengthened motorcycle safety provision, and mandatory water safety education in schools. 

Drawing on RoSPA’s experience working in partnership with the Scottish Government on projects such as the Scottish Occupational Road Safety Alliance (ScORSA) and Water Safety Scotland, the charity believes that these measures could prevent avoidable deaths while easing pressure on Scotland’s public services. 

Rebecca Hickman, Chief Executive Officer, said: “Scotland is facing a silent epidemic of accidental deaths, and the scale of harm is now impossible to ignore. Every statistic represents a person whose life could have been saved with proven interventions.

“We are urging the next Scottish Government to make accident prevention a national priority, because the evidence shows that coordinated action will save lives, protect communities and relieve pressure on the NHS.

“Accidents are not inevitable. With clear national leadership and consistent standards across Scotland, we can significantly reduce preventable harm. RoSPA’s proposals give policymakers the tools they need to act quickly and effectively.” 

Key recommendations from the manifesto:

1. Road Safety 

RoSPA calls for three priority actions to reduce road deaths and serious injuries: 

  • Empower local authorities to set safe speed limits, including wider use of 20mph zones where appropriate to protect pedestrians, cyclists and communities.  
  • Introduce mandatory eyesight testing for all drivers every three years, addressing declining vision as a major but under‑recognised collision risk.  
  • Continue dedicated motorcycle‑safety funding, supporting advanced rider training and targeted safety campaigns due to Scotland’s disproportionately high motorcyclist fatality rates.  

2. Home and product safety 

To tackle Scotland’s high rate of home‑based injuries and deaths, the manifesto recommends: 

  • Establish permanent national home‑safety programmes, including home‑risk assessments, safety advice and provision of essential equipment for vulnerable households.  
  • Mandate Safer by Design standards, including embedding BS 5395‑1 stair‑safety principles into Scottish building regulations for all new homes.  
  • Reestablish Home Safety Scotland to provide national leadership and coordinate preventative work across partners.  

3. Leisure safety & drowning prevention 

RoSPA is urging the adoption of three key measures to improve water safety and reduce the number of drowning fatalities: 

  • Endorse and support the next Scotland Drowning Prevention Strategy (from 2026) to sustain national progress.  
  • Make classroom water‑safety education mandatory using Water Safety Scotland and Education Scotland resources.  
  • Mandate Drowning and Incident Reviews (DIR), ensuring all relevant agencies participate in consistent post‑incident learning.  

4. Occupational safety and health 

To address changing work patterns, data gaps and emerging hazards, RoSPA calls for: 

  • A comprehensive study into the gig economy, examining scale, conditions and fair compensation for work‑related risks.  
  • Development of Scotland‑specific transferable health and safety qualifications to maintain skills as workers move between sectors.  
  • Improved data‑sharing between Police Scotland and the Health and Safety Executive, via a formal Memorandum of Understanding for clearer referral criteria and timely evidence-sharing. 

The rising accidental death rate is a major strategic challenge for Scotland, affecting health, productivity, and inequality. Addressing it will require coordinated action across government, emergency services, local authorities, and industry. 

RoSPA: 8,000 people a day die in accidents worldwide 

Accidental deaths and life-changing injuries: A global tragedy

  • 1 in 20 deaths worldwide are due to accidents – making them the sixth biggest cause of death globally 
  • People in lower- and middle-income countries are much more likely to die in accidents 
  • RoSPA calls for greater investment in accident prevention to save lives, reduce inequalities and promote economic growth 

Accidents are the sixth leading cause of death worldwide, claiming over 3 million lives a year, and people in developing countries are far more likely to be killed in an accident than those in richer nations. 

That’s the shocking truth exposed by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents’ (RoSPA)’s new report Accidental deaths and life-changing injuries: A global tragedy, in partnership with L’Oréal and Xylem. 

This groundbreaking study of international accident rates, based on analysis of data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and other sources, reveals that:  

  • Accidents are now the sixth biggest cause of death worldwide 
  • 3.1 million people lost their lives in accidents in 2021 alone: over 8,000 every single day 
  • 1 in 20 deaths worldwide is the result of an accident. 
  • In addition, RoSPA’s research reveals enormous inequalities across the globe:  
  • 1.2 million people are killed in road collisions every year
  • 92% of road deaths happen in low- or middle-income countries – even though they have only 60% of the world’s vehicles 
  • 315,000 people are killed at work 
  • 94% of workplace deaths occur in lower- and middle- income countries 
  • Workplace deaths are highest in Africa and Asia 
  • Workers are almost three times more likely to die of a workplace accident in Asia than in Europe, and nearly four times more likely in Africa 
  • Agriculture has the highest number of deaths of any sector. 

Many of these inequalities may be explained by poor infrastructure, weaker regulations and inconsistent enforcement in developing nations. RoSPA has also found that 80% of deaths in working age adults take place outside of work, with road traffic collisions, falls, drownings and fires being particularly deadly.  

Together with the tragic human toll, with millions left unable to work or having to financially manage after a loved one has passed away, accidents also put an immense burden on economies, through a combination of lower productivity and the cost of medical care. 

In developing countries in particular, accidents can create a vicious cycle of lower growth leading to lower incomes and thus lower investment in accident prevention.  

With over 100 years of experience developing evidence-based solutions that have saved millions of lives on roads, in work and at home, RoSPA is campaigning for much greater investment in accident prevention across the world to drive growth, improve productivity, foster social justice and – most importantly – save lives.

 

Rebecca Hickman, Chief Executive at RoSPA, said: “Every day, thousands of people around the world are killed or seriously injured in preventable accidents. Each death or injury devastates families and communities. At RoSPA, we believe safety is a fundamental human right – one that should not depend on where you live. 

“These findings are stark: accidental deaths remain a major public health challenge, with lower- and middle- income countries facing the heaviest burdens. 

RoSPA’s vision is an accident-free world. This report provides a foundation for global action by governments, businesses, NGOs, and international institutions to act, because a safer world is not only possible, it is essential.” 

Malcolm Staves, Global Vice President of Health and Safety at L’Oréal, said: “Each year, millions of individuals tragically lose their lives, sustain permanent injuries, or develop long-term diseases due to unsafe and unhealthy environments, both within and outside the workplace.

“These perilous conditions often stem from a complex interplay of underlying causes, including governance gaps, deficient legislative frameworks, a pervasive lack of awareness or knowledge, insufficient resources, and a weak culture of prevention, both within workplaces and across society at large. 

“Our game-changing partnership with RoSPA, which provides health, safety, and wellbeing information and support to a wider community, epitomizes our values and our commitment to protecting people.” 

Autumn Crum, Director of Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) at Xylem, said: “True safety leadership is caring for people and proactively addressing risk wherever it exists.

“With RoSPA’s Global Accident Data Initiative, we’re helping turn data into action to better protect people, families, and communities around the world.”  

Access the full report here 

Water Safety Scotland launches new education resources for schools

Water Safety Scotland (WSS), in partnership with Education Scotland, has officially launched its first instalment of free water safety educational resources for schools and practitioners in Scotland.

Water Safety Scotland, which is committed to reducing accidental drowning deaths in Scotland by 50 per cent by 2026, introduced the initiative to provide a consistent level of learning across Scotland’s educational institutions in a bid to equip Scottish youth with the knowledge and skills required to reduce water-based accidents.

Laura Erskine, Water Safety Scotland’s Education Subgroup Chair, said: “On average, there are 96 water-related fatalities in Scotland each year. We aim to reduce the number of deaths from accidental drowning by 50 per cent by 2026 by driving a generational change in water safety in Scotland.

“We want to encourage safe and responsible access to Scotland’s waterways, which can be a positive and enjoyable experience for young people when coupled with appropriate risk awareness and education.”

The materials aim to provide consistent and curriculum-aligned information which feeds into a full progression pathway created specifically for water safety in Scotland. Starting from children aged 3, the resource set will instruct and inform young people right up to the age of 18 and has been endorsed by a wealth of supporting partner agencies.

Gayle Gorman, Chief Executive of Education Scotland said: “Every year we hear of tragic accidents taking place in Scotland’s waters as many young people are not aware of the dangers of swimming in open waters.

“That is why we welcomed the opportunity to work with Water Safety Scotland to develop educational materials that aim to increase awareness of water safety. We hope that this information will reach as many children and young people as possible to ensure they are aware of the dangers that come with going into open water.”

Scheduled for a staggered release over the next nine months, the first set of lessons is being released on Tuesday, April 26. Specifically focusing on the Third/Fourth level within the five tiers of the Scottish curriculum, it can be accessed via Education Scotland’s National Hub or through the Water Safety Scotland website.

Intrinsically linked to WSS’ Water Safety Code, which was created to help people enjoy Scotland’s waterways as safely as possible, it follows three key pieces of advice:

•    Stop and Think, Spot the Dangers

•    Stay Together, Stay Close

•    In an Emergency, Call 999.

Education is a key part of Scotland’s Drowning Prevention Strategy, which has now entered its fifth year. An interim review was published earlier this year and was launched by the Minister for Community Safety, Ash Regan, along with the Ministerial Action Plan for Water Safety.

Community Safety Minister Ash Regan said: “I would like to thank Education Scotland, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and Water Safety Scotland for their excellent collaborative work in creating this fantastic resource which will help to educate children about keeping themselves and their friends safe around water.

“This is a vital part of the work being taken forward across Scotland to improve public safety, including the recent launch of the Water Safety Action Plan drawn up by the Scottish Government and a range of key partners.”

Water Safety Scotland aims to roll out the next phase of this initiative in late May and will continue this strategy during the rest of 2022.