MORE THAN three times as many people are seriously injured in road traffic collisions than has been reported to date, a study by the Health Service Executive has found.
Two-thirds of those injured are male and the worst months for serious injuries on the roads are July and August, according to the national study by HSE Dublin North East’s department of public health.
It found that road traffic collision injuries requiring hospitalisation have to date been seriously under-reported by the Road Safety Authority, using Garda data.
The study concluded that between 2005 and 2009, 14,861 people were treated as hospital inpatients with injuries sustained in road traffic incidents, which was 3.5 times greater than the authority’s figure based on Garda statistics.
Specialist in public health medicine in HSE Dublin North East Dr Declan Bedford said the figure was “not unexpected”, given that statistics on injuries arising from road traffic incidents were underestimated internationally.
The authority had acknowledged that the trend was also the case for Ireland, despite increased efforts by the Garda to secure up-to-date figures.
The study estimated that serious road collision injuries were costing the acute hospital service at least €20 million annually, while the overall cost to the economy was about €1 billion.
The average inpatient cost was €6,395.
Dr Bedford said despite the major and welcome drop in road deaths, there was still a significant problem with the number of people seriously injured in road collisions.
“There will have to be a continued implementation of evidence-based strategies to make collisions less likely,” he added.
Dr Bedford said many people thought the roads were more dangerous in winter, but serious injury collisions were most common in the summer months.
“All drivers, especially male drivers, have to accept their responsibilities and drive safely all year round,” he added.
The study found that the ratio of hospitalised road users to those fatally injured had increased from 4.6 in 2005 to 7 in 2009, which compared favourably with OECD member states.
There were 14,861 hospital discharges of persons, admitted as emergency inpatients with road traffic collision injuries, to Irish acute hospitals during the period 2005 to 2009.
The number declined from 3,080 in 2005 to 2,837 in 2009, representing a reduction of 7.9 per cent.
Sixty-five per cent of those injured were male, while the average age was 33 years. Almost half, 43 per cent, were less than 25 years old.
Saturdays and Sundays were the most common days for hospital admissions, while the average hospital stay was six days.
A total of 87,750 bed days were used, resulting in an average of 48 beds daily allocated in acute hospitals to people who had sustained injuries in road traffic collisions.
Over half, 56 per cent, stayed between one and two days, while 10 per cent required admission to the intensive care unit, staying an average of seven days.
Thirty-one per cent of those admitted had head injuries and, most commonly, procedures were carried out on the musculoskeletal system.
Eighty-seven per cent of those admitted were later discharged from hospital, while 11 per cent were transferred to another hospital. One per cent died in hospital.
The study, Admission to Acute Hospitals for Injuries as a Result of Road Traffic Collisions in Ireland 2005–2009,was presented yesterday to members of the HSE Dublin North East Regional Health Forum.
HSE ROAD INJURIES STUDY: MAIN POINTS
*** Two-thirds of those injured are male.
*** July and August are months with most hospital admissions.
*** Cost to the Irish economy about €1 billion annually.
*** Average age of those with injuries 33 years.
*** Ten per cent of those treated required admission to intensive care, where the average stay was a week.
