Welsh scheme to cut hospital admissions could go global

A scheme to cut violence related hospital admissions in the Welsh city of Cardiff has been so successful the World Health Organisation (WHO) is calling for a similar model to be utilised in cities across the world.

The four year study saw Accident and Emergency departments share information with police about casualty admissions and how, where and when they sustained their injuries.

The police were then able to use the information, which often goes unreported, to target violence hotspots in the city centre.

This has seen a 42 percent decrease in woundings and violence related hospital admissions in Cardiff compared to 14 other cities across England and Wales.

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The WHO now believes that a similar practice could also be beneficial in reducing violence and the subsequent need for hospital treatments in cities all over the world.

The research was led by Professor Jonathon Shepherd from Cardiff University after he discovered that only 23 percent of violence related A&E cases were not reported to police.

“Violence prevention can be increased if intelligence from the local A&E department is used in collaboration with the police intelligence,” he said.

This method of data and intelligence sharing is now being rolled out across part of the UK because it has been so successful.

Information collected in Kent has led to a new advisory service after it was able to highlight high levels of domestic violence.

Meanwhile, in Portsmouth, such information has led to the restriction of the opening times of certain bars and clubs after it was shared with the Licensed Premises Management system.

The WHO's prevention of violence co-ordinator, Alexander Butchart, said: “If subsequent studies also find the significant reductions found in Cardiff, it would increase confidence in the value of this new tool to prevent violence.”