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A&E attendances due to assaults drop by nearly a third in five years

Figures published today by the Health and Social Care Information Centre show that attendances due to assaults have fallen by 30% between 2009/10 and 2014/15

The number people who attended A&E because they had been assaulted fell by 8.3% in 2014/15 and by nearly a third in the last five years, figures released today show. 

The report, published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC), says that there were 133,896 A&E attendances in England due to assault between May 2014 and April 2015, compared to 146,060 in the previous 12 month period.

There has also been a 30% decrease in admissions over the past five years, from 191,351 in 2009/10.

Admissions for assault were highest in Merseyside where there were 13 admissions per 10,000 people (1,544 admissions), compared to the second highest admissions rate in Lancashire which had eight admissions per 10,000 people (1,171 admissions).

The lowest admissions rate was in the Thames Valley (482 admissions, the equivalent of 2.3 per 10,000 people).  The overall admissions rate in England was 5.2 admissions per 10,000 people (28,153 admissions).  

A&E attendances were much higher for men than women in the last year.  Men accounted for 71.3% (95,460) of emergency department attendances caused by assault in 2014/15.  

In the last five years, the proportion of attendances by women has increased from 25.6% (49,063 of 191,351 in total) to 28.6% (38,317 of 133,896 in total).  The HSCIC say this shows that A&E attendances caused by assault are reducing at a slower rate for women than men. 

To read the full report, click here.