§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of persons injured in the last 12 months as a result of pursuing a hazardous sport; and what was the cost to the NHS. [34458]
§ Ms JowellEstimates from the leisure accident database, administered by the Department of Trade and Industry, suggest that there were 801,499 sporting injuries in 1996. The estimate was based on a sample of 18 hospitals in the United Kingdom. However, it is not possible to distinguish those resulting from "hazardous" sports from others. No estimate has been made of the cost of sporting accidents to the NHS. Accidents, generally, cost the National Health Service around £1.2 billion per annum.