Rise in treatment for knife attacks

THE number of people admitted to hospital last year in Coventry and Warwickshire after being attacked with a knife or sharp object was the highest total in the past five years.

Assaults with the weapons led to a total of 88 admissions of people who live in the Coventry and Rugby Clinical Commissioning Group area in 2016/17. The figure, which was released by NHS Digital, was the highest number of admissions recorded in at least five years - a nine per cent rise from 81 in 2015/16, and a 33 per cent rise from 66 recorded in 2012/13.

The numbers for 2016/17 could also be even higher as the figures released by NHS Digital are still provisional.

It said counts produced from provisional data are likely to be lower than those generated for the same period in the final data set.

There may also be errors due to coding inconsistencies that have not yet been investigated and corrected.

Although the region’s figures are rising, they are nowhere near the highest numbers in the country with the Tower Hamlets area in London seeing a whopping 405 hospital admissions.

This was over 100 more than the next area (West London 294), with Birmingham Crosscity having the third highest total of 278.

After that came Lambeth (262), Liverpool (211), Wandsworth (182) and Leeds South and East (128).

West Midlands Police said it was difficult for them to comment on provisional figures.