§ Mr. SawfordTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many injuries resulting from accidents involving fireworks were reported in Great Britain for each year from 1990 to 1997, broken down by hospital casualty unit. [74635]
§ Dr. HowellsI have been asked to reply.
The DTI's annual census of fireworks injuries is conducted over a four week period taking in the run-up to 5 November and a few days afterwards. Details of injuries recorded at each NHS Trust are available only for the years 1996 and 1997. Information for the years 1992 to 1995 is recorded by regional and district health authorities but no information on a regional basis is recorded for 1991. Copies of the annual reports of firework injuries for each of these years were placed in the Library as soon as they were published. A breakdown of the injuries recorded by each A&E unit for the years 1992 to 1995 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
No reliable estimates of fireworks injuries outside the census period can be made because the numbers are too small to be extrapolated from data in the Home Accident Surveillance System.