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1240/5(3142)
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES BY DEPUTY J.A.N. LE FONDRÉ OF ST. LAWRENCE
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY, 5th DECEMBER 2006
Question
Would the Minister indicate the number of admissions into Accident and Emergency for each of the years to date since 2000, and provide a breakdown of the reasons for admission, specifying, in particular, traffic injury, stabbings, firearm related incidents, alcohol related incidents, drug related incidents, other assaults, and the specific number of fatalities, if any, arising from such incidents?
Answer
While I am very pleased to disclose all of the information concerning Accident and Emergency admissions from the year 2000, the Deputy needs to be mindful that his breakdown of the reasons for admission' – for example, stabbings' and firearm related incidents' – are definitions used within the criminal justice system. Definitions used in health and social care relate to primary clinical diagnosis. Of course, it may well be that in taking the clinical history of the individual patient the Accident and Emergency Department may gather information which may shed light on any criminal causality. However, this may not always be the case and therefore it is safe to assume that the data given below understates criminal causality.
Having said this, the information requested by the Deputy is set out in the following table with the following explanatory notes.
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | Jan-Oct 2006 |
Total Episodes | 39040 | 39315 | 38378 | 38472 | 39080 | 39959 | 28803 |
Total Deaths (All Reasons) | 48 | 38 | 35 | 48 | 42 | 41 | 52 |
RTA | 626 | 606 | 645 | 634 | 947 | 781 | 708 |
Assaults | 529 | 411 | 376 | 307 | 302 | 519 | 300 |
Alcohol Related Episodes | 157 | 113 | 102 | 179 | 233 | 230 | 208 |
Overdose | 266 | 247 | 227 | 263 | 300 | 239 | 218 |
Explanatory notes:
- Total episodes. This is the equivalent of total admissions into the Accident and Emergency Department by specified year and covers anything from a minor sprain of the ankle to major trauma and includes the activity associated with the other complaints mentioned in the table (e.g. assaults etc) ;
- Total Deaths. This is the total number of fatalities that occurred in the Accident and Emergency Department by specified year;
- Road Traffic Accidents (RTA). This is the total number of road traffic accident admissions into the Accident and Emergency Department by specified year;
- Assaults. The figures under this heading by specified year include all assaults and therefore do not distinguish between the different methods of assault mentioned in the question;
- Alcohol Related Episodes. The figures under this heading by specified year cover the treatment of patients where alcohol intoxication was the primary (i.e. main) presenting complaint. Other patients seen by the Accident and Emergency Department have been under the influence of alcohol but this was secondary to their main presenting complaint and are therefore excluded from the these figures;
- Overdose. The figures under this heading by specified year cover the treatment of patients where an overdose of drugs of any sort was the primary presenting complaint.
If the Deputy wishes to obtain further information – or indeed to receive a detailed briefing as to the health implications of criminal activities in Jersey – then I will be pleased to help the Deputy access this.