Unintentional deaths - falls

The analysis excludes falls due to unspecified cause. See further comments regarding the substantial number of falls likely to be excluded.

Fall deaths 2003 (Northern Ireland 2002):

There were 3,903 unintentional deaths due to falls in Britain and Ireland, split as follows:

Scotland and the Republic of Ireland had by far the highest age-standardised mortality rates (8.4 and 8.1 per 100,000 population respectively). The North West (5.4), West Midlands (4.9), North East (4.5) and Wales (4.3) also had significantly higher rates than the England average (3.5). The East of England (2.1) and South East (3.0) had significantly lower rates than the England average. The Northern Ireland rate (3.0) did not differ significantly from England.

Fall deaths 1996 to 2003 (to 2002 in Northern Ireland):

The number of unintentional injuries due to falls in Britain and Ireland increased by 44% from 1996 (2,706 deaths) to 2003.

The age-standardised mortality rate in Scotland more than doubled between 1999 and 2000, with the new level largely maintained in the following years. This suggests a change in coding practice. Dramatic single year changes were not observed in the other regions.

Several regions observed an increase in the rate between 1996 and 2003, with significant increases in Scotland (+149%), Republic of Ireland (+71%), England (+18%), the North West (67%), the North East (34%) and the South East (28%). There were also rate reductions in Wales (-16%) and some other regions, with a significant reduction in Northern Ireland (-42%).