The costs and characteristics of occupational injuries admitted to a trauma unit.

Occupational injuries requiring admission to a trauma unit were examined to outline the events surrounding the injury and to examine the costs. Sixty-nine patients were admitted over a 12-month period, representing 4.30% of all work-related injuries attending the emergency department and 4.25% of all admissions to the trauma unit. Most were male (91%), working in skilled trade occupations (65%), with a mean age of 38.8 years. Personal protective equipment was used only by 46% of injured workers who should have been using it. Sixty-one percent of patients believed that their injury was preventable. Half of the injuries were to the upper limb, fall was the most frequent mechanism (25%) and the median duration of admission was 2 days. The direct hospital costs were estimated at over 300000 GBP. Failure to use protective equipment and to follow health and safety guidelines suggests that opportunities exist for injury prevention.

Citation

Duncan J M Macdonald, Kaveh A Sanati, Ewan B Macdonald. The costs and characteristics of occupational injuries admitted to a trauma unit. International journal of occupational safety and ergonomics : JOSE. 2012;18(4):587-90

Mesh Tags

PMID: 23294664

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