Children in poverty more likely to die in accidents, says Healthcare Commission

Children from deprived backgrounds are 13 times more likely to die from unintentional injuries than those from affluent families, a  report out today finds.

The study by the Healthcare and Audit comissions finds children whose parents are long-term unemployed are significantly more at risk than those whose parents are in top managerial or professional occupations.

The report calls for more action to prevent accidental injuries, saying they are unnecessarily costing the NHS approximately £146m a year, and that local action to tackle the problem is insufficiently coherent.

It says the Department of Health must state more clearly what action must be taken locally to prevent accidents, and councils, primary care trusts and their partners must pool information to find out how and where accidents occur.