Injuries cost NSW economy $3.6 billion - UNSW report

27 October 2003

Injuries are costing the NSW economy $3.6 billion a year according to a report published by UNSW researchers at the NSW Injury Risk Management Injury Research Centre (IRMRC).

The report - titled Injury Costs! A Valuation of the Burden of Injury in NSW 1998-1999 - is the first of its kind to accurately measure the lifetime cost of injuries.

The Director of the IRMRC, Professor Caroline Finch, said the report gave government a good measure of potential cost savings that could accrue from well-targeted injury prevention programs.

"It's no secret that the burden of preventable injury in NSW is enormous," said Professor Finch.

"Injuries don't simply put pressure on scarce health resources. They diminish people's earning capacity, their mental health, their ability to contribute to society and to live long, fulfilling lives."

The $3.6 billion cost of injury to NSW in 1998-99 was comprised of $1.2 billion in direct health system costs and $2.4 billion in death and disability. The report shows that males accounted for two-thirds of lifetime injury costs ($2.35 billion), while females accounted for one-third of costs ($1.18 billion).

Funded by the NSW Health Department, the report identified falls, self-harm and road traffic accidents as the three leading contributors to the cost of injury. These injury mechanisms alone accounted for $1.2 billion in lifetime costs.

The Director General of the NSW Health Department, Ms Robyn Kruk, said the report had broad relevance.

"The cost of injury has never been about the health system alone," said Ms Kruk.

"The report has for the first time provided significantly useful information to allow health and other government agencies to provide better patient care and appropriate resources for the victims of injuries."

Professor Finch echoed Ms Kruk's remarks, saying the report was the first of its kind to cost the lifetime impact of injuries upon families, carers and the broader community.

"Government agencies and communities now have accurate estimates of the lifetime cost of injuries in New South Wales. What's needed now is a united and coordinated approach to the planning and funding of injury prevention across the board," said Professor Finch.

"The report is unique because it provides the first means for evaluating injury prevention programs not only in terms of preventable deaths and illness, but in cost-benefit terms."

Media contact: Dan Gaffney mob 0411 156 015 or UNSW Media Office ph (02) 9385 2864