Health Improvement Programme for
Doncaster 2000 - 2003

Strategic Direction

The local strategic direction is:

To implement the multi-agency accident strategy which focuses on prevention and service delivery and to monitor progress in achieving its associated outcomes and targets.

Target

Accidents are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. It is an area where there is scope for improvement. 'Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation' has identified this as a priority and set a target which has been adopted as a local target.

To reduce the death rates from accidents by at least one fifth and to reduce the rate of serious injury from accidents by at least one tenth by 2010.

An additional local target is:

To reduce death rates from accidents and serious injury from accidents in the most deprived 20% of enumeration districts at a faster rate than the rest of the population.

General Commentary

The Director of Public Health's Annual Report shows that the accident mortality rate is similar to the country as a whole. Mortality from accidents is difficult to analyse at a local level, as numbers are few. The 20% target means reducing annual deaths in Doncaster from 59 to 47 and a reduction in the annual number of hospital admissions requiring a hospital stay of four days or more from 1100 to 990. There are large local inequalities in deaths and serious injury from accidents with much higher rates occurring within the most deprived areas, hence, the need of an additional target to address this aspect. The major causes of accidental death in Doncaster are falls (particularly in the elderly), and motor vehicle traffic accidents for children and young people. Falls and transport accidents also account for a large proportion of all accidents resulting in hospital admission locally. The identification of the reasons for accidents is complex. Accidents occur because of complex interaction of many factors including social and economic determinants; personal circumstances; safety awareness and knowledge in the individual as well as the mechanisms involved in the accidents themselves. Current initiatives include: local road safety action plans (traffic calming and changes in road layout and speed enforcement); educational programme within schools; education and training within the warden service which will be extended to carers and local osteoporosis working group action plan.

Future development will focus on: a coherent multi-agency and inter-professional approach; development of a process for multi-agency education and training; accident prevention assessment tools for professionals and individuals; community participation and identification of appropriate local initiatives (for example, installation of smoke alarms).

Further information can be obtained by downloading the full text version of the Health Improvement Programme for Doncaster 2000 - 2003

Any comments on this section should be submitted to the theme lead: Mr. Mike Burns, Head of Environment, Health and Consumer Protection, Environmental Services, Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council, Council House, College Rd, Doncaster, DN1 1RN, or by email to: mike.burns@doncaster.gov.uk