Sutton NHS Trust Does Not Count Knife Stabbings
Sutton's NHS trust doesn't record how many people are admitted to their hospitals for stab wounds but does measure 'sharp object' incidents.
Sutton’s NHS trust does not measure how many people come into their hospital with stab wounds from a knife, according to a Freedom of Information request.
This was discovered after media literacy charity The Student View submitted a Freedom of Information request to Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust.
However, the NHS Trust does count the admissions for a “spell with contact with a sharp object”, which can include being cut with a blade.
There were a total of 211 admissions to St Helier Hospital for sharp object injuries between January 2015 and 2019.
To find out how many of these incidents involve a knife, the Trust advised it would have to go through every single patient record as this is not included in the data they collect.
The information would be useful to work out how many stabbings happen in the area compared to how many stabbings are reported to the police.
Epsom and St Helier Hospitals Hospitals NHS Trust has been contacted for comment but did not respond in time for publication.