Agenda item

Report of the Director of Public Health

The Director of Public Health submitted a report (previously circulated) providing Members with a clear overview of the local, regional and national data relating to hospital admissions for unintentional and deliberate injuries amongst children and young people aged 0-14 years, in response to a request made following the update in January on performance indicator PBH024 and PBH026. The submitted report also detailed the current work underway in Darlington on injury prevention, highlighting current actions and the forward work plan.

It was reported that nationally hospital admissions caused by unintentional and deliberate injuries in children and young people was the leading cause of death and serious injury in children under 15 years of age and that many of the injuries were preventable; and that the rate of hospital admissions caused by unintentional and deliberate injuries in Darlington was significantly higher than the England average and the highest in England. Members were informed however that differences in the way that paediatric hospital admission data was collected between hospital Trusts means that caution should be applied when comparing local authority areas on these indicators.

The submitted report provided details on the inequalities regarding hospital admissions by unintentional and deliberate injuries in children 0-4 years and those aged 0 - 14 years per 10,000 population for 2023/24; highlighted that the most common cause of injuries within the home were poisoning and falls, with Darlington having the highest rate of emergency admissions for accidental poisoning in children aged 0-4, nationally in 2018/19 to 2020/21; and that Darlington was ranked fifth highest local authority in England in 2018/19 to 2020/21 for the rate of emergency admissions for falls in children aged 0-4.

Members were informed that an audit had been undertaken by County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust (CDDFT) to understand the key reasons for hospital admissions in children for unintentional and deliberate, including a deep dive audit of 100 records and the key messages were outlined.

The submitted report outlined the key actions to support injury prevention in relation to system-approach to injury prevention, health promotion and service development and data intelligence and evidence.

Discussion ensued on the impact of data quality on the figures for Darlington and Members queried how many admissions resulted in safeguarding referrals. Members noted that whilst there were inconsistencies in how data was collected between hospital trusts, the hospital admissions caused by unintentional and deliberate injuries in children and young people for Darlington was showing an increasing trend and there was a need to understand the reasons for this increase.

Members sought clarification regarding the new national data collection methods for urgent and emergency care and how this would affect the figures for Darlington.

RESOLVED – (a) That the current data on childhood injuries and the importance of preventing injuries as a mechanism to improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people, be noted.

(b) That the contribution of childhood injuries to health inequalities, as a greater proportion of injuries are experienced by children living in our most deprived communities, be acknowledged.

(c) That the work already underway with system partners on injury prevention, be supported.

(d) That the system-wide approach and key priorities in the forward work plan be endorsed.