The number of deaths from accidents increases as people fall down stairs and poison themselves

Britain is facing a ‘crisis’ as the number of deaths from accidents has risen by 42 percent in the past decade, a report has warned.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) says people are “substantially more likely” to have a serious accident than twenty years ago.

Data from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland shows a 42 percent increase in Britain accidental deaths over the past decade, killing more than 20,000 people annually.

Accidental deaths have risen by 60 per cent in Scotland, 42 per cent in Wales and 67 per cent in Northern Ireland since 2013, the report found. They have also become the leading preventable cause of death for people under the age of 40, with more than half of fatalities occurring at home.

Nearly half (46 percent) of accidental deaths in 2022 were due to falls, the study found, with more than a quarter (26 percent) due to poisoning, and 7 percent due to a traffic accident or transport-related accident.

The research also shows that accidents cost the UK almost £12 billion every year – £6 billion in NHS care and £5.9 billion in lost working days.

RoSPA called on the government to implement a national accident prevention strategy to “save lives, boost the economy and free up capacity in the NHS”.

Becky Hickman, the association’s chief executive, said: “We must act now to stop further avoidable deaths and serious injuries – accidents are avoidable and do not have to happen.

“Britain is facing an accident crisis. The chance of having a serious accident today is significantly greater than it was twenty years ago.

“Even those who have never been involved in an accident are still suffering, as more and more accidents choke the UK economy and overwhelm the NHS – taking up bed space, money, time and resources that could be spent on other serious illnesses .”

It comes after a coroner ruled that mother-of-two Helen Davey died when she was accidentally suffocated by her Ottoman bed, which collapsed on her neck at home in Seaham, County Durham.

Last month, a separate inquest heard that former pub owner John Harries died after suffering “significant” head injuries when he fell down a concrete staircase. He died in July, a month after the fall, at the Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales.

Meanwhile, accident victim Brian Whitnall spent six days in hospital after accidentally cutting off two of his toes while mowing his lawn earlier this year. The 50-year-old sales manager of a printer and copier company underwent two operations after the accident.

Mr Whitnall said: “It was a warm Sunday and my partner Rachel was washing the driveway while I was mowing the lawn.”

He continued: “While walking my Flymo lawn mower, I took a step back and my foot caught on the steps leading to my grandson’s trampoline. The next thing I’m falling backwards.

“Instead of releasing the lever, which would have turned off the engine, I gripped it tighter to try to steady myself and brought the lawnmower towards me.

“I felt a scorching heat in my right foot and knew immediately that I had chopped off a few toes.”

This was also evident from the report hospital admissions as a result of an accident The number of serious injuries has risen by 48 per cent in England alone over the past two decades – with more than 740,000 people admitted after an accident in 2022/2023.

Last year, more than 4.4 million bed days were spent treating patients with accident-related injuries in England, costing the NHS an estimated £4.6 billion.

A bed day means that a person is admitted as a hospital patient, is confined to a bed and stays in the hospital overnight.

Across Britain, accidents have led to around 5.2 million bed days, costing the NHS an estimated £5.4 billion last year.

Accidents resulted in around seven million emergency department visits in Britain last year, costing a further £613 million. NHS to at least £6 billion per year.

In the year 2022/2023, almost 29 million working days were lost to accidents across Britain – ten times more than were lost to strikes. The combined cost to UK businesses is £5.9 billion, the report said