Hospitals treating 21 youngsters a day after violent attacks
HOSPiTaLS are treating 21 young patients every day for knife wounds and other assaults, official figures suggest.
at least 4,502 victims aged 11 to 25 attended casualty units or urgent care centres with injuries from stabbings or similar assaults last year.
The figures will be a huge underestimate because only 60 per cent of hospitals were able to provide data to MPs. The real total for 2018 is likely to be around 7,600.
The statistics were obtained under freedom of information laws by the all-party group on knife crime, which represents 40 MPs and peers. NHS figures last month showed admissions for under-16s had doubled in five years.
John Poyton of Redthread, a charity that works in emergency departments to deter young people from violence, said: ‘These figures are just the tip of the iceberg, with the real number of young people attending hospital after assault with a weapon likely to be much higher.
‘Hospitals and GP surgeries are anchor institutions in our communities and the NHS has a pivotal role to play in treating youth violence as well as preventing it.’
Theresa May is this week hosting a major summit on the knife crime crisis, which is being attended by more than 100 experts and ministers.
On Monday she unveiled joint plans with Home Secretary Sajid Javid which would see nurses, teachers and police officers having legal duties to report possible offenders.
Writing in the Daily Mail they said knife crime should be treated as an infectious disease. Their proposed ‘public health’ strategy is very similar to that deployed in Glasgow, where stab wounds have halved in the space of 12 years.
Potential offenders or victims would be referred to violence reduction units where they would be offered mentoring to help change their ways. But the plans for nurses, teachers and police officers to report suspicious behaviour prompted a backlash among unions who said they were being scapegoated.
Labour MP Sarah Jones, who chairs the all-party group, said: ‘Today’s figures show how stark this crisis is with thousands of young people being hospitalised by violence.
‘But it’s worrying that almost half of NHS trusts were unable to give us accurate information on young knife victims.
‘We have been calling for a public health approach to knife crime for some time so it’s encouraging that the Prime Minister has finally accepted this.
‘But the first part of a public health response is about diagnosing the problem – we can’t do that unless we know where the violence epidemic is most acute.’
an NHS spokesman said: ‘Violent crime destroys lives, and with official stats showing a steep rise in the number of people – particularly worryingly teenagers – needing urgent hospital care for wounds in recent years, it’s clear that this problem has grown. as the NHS delivers our long-term plan for the health service we will improve urgent care, building on progress which has saved 1,600 extra lives through better trauma services.’ a Government spokesman said: ‘We are working to tackle the concerning rise in violence through our serious violence strategy. This week the Prime Minister hosted the serious youth violence summit and the Home Secretary announced a consultation on a legal duty to ensure public bodies are identifying those at risk of becoming involved in such crime.’