Accident cases at ‘epidemic frequency’

Press, 10 March 1984, Page 29

Accident cases at ‘epidemic frequency’

PA Wellington An epidemic of roadaccident injuries was tying up millions of health-care dollars and straining hospital staff and facilities, said a hospital board chairman recently. At a Hospital Boards’ Association meeting in Wellington, the Hawke’s Bay Hospital Board’s chairman, Mrs Joan Velvin, called for better driving-training techniques to help solve the problem and a combined approach to support any other initiatives. Accidents were the main cause of hospital admissions nationally and one in 10 patient bed-days came through accident injuries, she said. In 1979, accidents accounted for 13.4 per cent of hospital admissions. The “epidemic frequency” of road accident injuries was putting substantial pressure on Hawke’s Bay intensive-care units month after month even though they did not handle severe

chest or head injuries, Mrs Velvin said. Orthopaedic waiting lists were also becoming “very long” through displacement by road injuries. Sometimes a week’s nonurgent operating list had to be cancelled for acute road cases. Mrs Velvin said that while the cost of road accidents on the taxpayer was boundless, they also caused long-term suffering for victims and families and put pressure and strain on the professionals involved, such as hospital staff, police, traffic officers, firemen, and ambulance staff. Referring to the Accident Compensation Corporation 1981 statistic that about $l4 million was spent in comensating motor-accident sufferers, Mrs Velvin said that the injured were being paid while sitting in beds, costing the hospital board money. Occasionally young people had an accident readmission soon after being discharged from

treatment for another accident. Mrs Velvin described this as “careless, discourteous, and inconsiderate.” The medical superintendent of the Hawke’s Bay board, Dr Winston McKean, said that a reduction in motor accidents would free considerable funds. The association could consider supporting several options such as random breath-testing and severe penalties for those charged with causing injuries or death, he said. Other suggestions made at the conference included: • Vehicle separation regulations. • Driver’s licence criteria similar to those applying for pilot licences. • Legislation aimed at the main offending agegroup qf 15 to 24 years. • Lowering the bloodalcohol level The conference resolved that the association executive should consider remedies and circulate them to hospital boards.