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Injury statistics
Below you will find a summary of key injury statistics for the New Plymouth District.
DEATHS FROM INJURY
On average each year, almost 30 NPD residents die as a result of injury. About two-thirds of these injury deaths are due to unintentional causes, with most of the remainder due to intentional causes.
In 2000-2003, most of the deaths due to unintentional injuries involved:
- Transport accidents (8 per year)
- Falls (6 per year)
- Drowning / submersion (1 per year)
- Accidental poisoning (1 per year).
The vast majority (85 percent) of deaths due to intentional injury were caused by intentional self-harm - suicide and other types of self-inflicted injury (7 per year).
The age-standardised injury death rate for males living in the New Plymouth district was just over double the female rate.
The age-standardised rate of injury deaths among Mäori was nearly twice that of non-Mäori. People living in the most socio-economically deprived areas of NPD had higher injury death rates than people living in less deprived areas.
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HOSPITALISATIONS FOR INJURY
In the five year period 2001-2005 an average of 1364 New Plymouth District residents per year were admitted to hospital due to injuries (includes both intentional and unintentional). Over this same period, 87 percent of these admissions were for unintentional injuries and just 8 percent of admissions were due to intentional injuries.
The most common groups of injuries were:
- Falls (42 percent)
- Exposure to inanimate mechanical forces (15 percent)
- Transport-related accidents (14 percent).
Overall the male hospitalisation rate for injury was 1.6 times that for females.
Males had higher hospitalisation rates than females in all age groups except
the 70-79 and 80+ age groups.
On an age-adjusted basis, Mäori and non-Mäori in NPD had an almost equal chance of being hospitalised due to injury. In all age groups, people living in the most socio-economically deprived areas of NPD were more likely to be hospitalised for injury than people living in less deprived areas.
From 1989 until 1997 the rates of hospitalisation for injury in NPD were higher than for New Zealand as a whole. However, in 1998 the trend reversed and in recent years NPD has had an injury hospitalisation rate somewhat lower than New Zealand as a whole.
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EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT ATTENDANCES FOR INJURY
In the year 2005, there were 7253 Emergency Department clinic (ED) attendances for injuries among NPD residents.
The ED attendance injury rate for males was 72 percent higher than for females (age-standardised rates). Ten to 19 year-old males and females, 20-29 year-old males and 80+ year-old females were the most likely to attend ED for injuries.
The non-Mäori age-standardised rate of ED attendance was slightly higher than the rate for Mäori.
The three leading causes of injuries resulting in attendance at ED in 2005 were:
- Falls (32 percent of all attendances)
- Blunt trauma (30 percent)
- Penetrating trauma (10 percent).
People living in the most socioeconomically deprived parts of New Plymouth District were much more likely to attend ED for injury than those living in less deprived areas.
The three most common sites where injuries occurred were:
- Domestic situations (48 percent)
- Sports / recreation venues (14 percent)
- Workplaces (12 percent).
ACC INJURY CLAIM STATISTICS
In the 2005 / 2006 financial year in NPD, a total of 2167 new entitlement claims were recorded by ACC. The NPD ACC new claim rate was slightly higher than the New Zealand average. NPD males were twice as likely as NPD females to have ACC new claims over the 2005 / 2006 period. For males, the highest claim rates were among 20-29 year-olds. For females, 50-59 and 65+ year-olds had the highest claim rates. Children aged 0-9 years had by far the lowest claim rates. Eighty-three percent of NPD claimants were European / Pakeha, 10 percent were Mäori and 4 percent were of other ethnicities.
The highest numbers of NPD claims were made for injuries that occurred:
- In home / other domestic situations – 37 percent (compared to 30 percent for NZ as a whole)
- At local sports / recreation venues – 18 percent (compared to 15 percent for NZ as a whole).
In 2005/ 2006 males were more likely than females to make claims for injuries
sustained on farms, at industrial places and at sports / recreation venues; whereas females were more likely to claim for injuries that occurred in the home.
In the 2005 / 2006 financial year, over $10 million was spent on ACC new entitlement claims in New Plymouth District. On average, each claim cost
$4,770. This was slightly less than the national average of $4,993.
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ROAD TRAFFIC CRASH STATISTICS
In the 10 years from 1996-2005, a total of 1823 road traffic crashes in NPD involving injury were reported to the Police. A total of 2622 people were injured in these crashes.
From 1999 through to 2002 the total number of serious or fatal road traffic crashes that occurred in NPD moved progressively downwards, before spiking markedly up again in 2003 and 2004. However, in 2005 the total fell to 26, the lowest recorded in the 10-year period.
Most crashes involving injury in NPD occurred on urban roads. However, crashes that occurred on rural roads more often involved serious and fatal injuries.
Twenty-three percent of all road crash casualties in New Plymouth District were aged 15-19. The other leading casualty groups were 20-24 year olds and 25-29 year olds. Altogether, 42 percent of all road crash casualties were aged between 15 and 29.
The most common types of vehicle movements involved in urban road injury crashes were:
- Crossing / turning movements
- Rear end / obstructions
- Loss of control / or head on collisions on road bends.
On rural roads the most common types of vehicle movements involved in urban road injury crashes resulted from:
- Loss of control / or head on collisions
on road bends
- Crossing / turning movements
- Loss of control / or head on collisions
on straight roads.
Poor observation and failure to give way or stop were the two most common contributing factors to injury crashes on urban roads in the New Plymouth District. On rural roads, poor observation was the most common factor contributing to injury crashes followed by poor vehicle handling.
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POLICE STATISTICS
In 2005, violent and sexual offences together contributed to 20 percent of all recorded offences in New Plymouth Policing Area, compared to 13 percent of all recorded offences nationally. From 1996 to 2005, the annual numbers of recorded violent offences in NPD increased by 42 percent (from 627 to 890). A similar trend was evident for New Zealand as a whole.
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CORONER’S SUICIDE DATA
Over the ten-year period 1996-2005, 93 suicides were investigated by the local coroner. Eighty percent of these suicides were by males. The most common ages for committing suicide were 30-39 (contributing to 27 percent of suicides) and 20-29 (20 percent).
The most common suicide methods were hanging (42 percent) and carbon monoxide poisoning (26 percent).
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INJURY PYRAMID
The injury pyramid below gives an indication of the numbers and severity of injuries in the New Plymouth District each year:
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