SEED-UK
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An observational Study of E-scooter impact upon EDs in the United Kingdom
IRAS ID
304213
Contact name
Edd Carlton
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
North Bristol NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 0 months, 15 days
Research summary
E-scooters have risen in popularity worldwide as a convenient, environmentally friendly form of inner-city transportation. In the United Kingdom (UK), rental E-scooters were introduced in 2020 and trials are now ongoing in more than 40 UK towns and cities. However, there is no scientific evidence looking at the impact of E-scooters on hospitals or the healthcare sector.
Over the last year, there has been an anecdotal increase in attendances to Emergency Departments (ED), and news reports of deaths related to E-scooters. Between May to June 2021, we conducted a study over a four-week period in three EDs in Bristol. 90 patients presented with E-scooter-related injuries, ranging from cuts and bruises, broken bones, all the way through to life-changing injuries requiring admission to intensive care. A significant proportion of patients were intoxicated and few wore helmets.
Whilst it is important to identify novel solutions to the climate emergency and improve the air quality in our cities, it is clear that E-scooters may impact upon many urban EDs. Extrapolating our initial findings, we could see over a thousand additional attendances to EDs in our city, and nationally this could result in over 50,000 extra attendances to EDs in the UK.
We want to perform a larger study that looks at the number of injuries occurring, the types of injuries occurring, and the impact upon EDs these injuries are having in towns and cities across the UK. Through collecting this data, we hope to understand how E-scooters impact EDs, identify ways in which we can prevent injuries, and determine the overall costs of E-scooters to the NHS. We hope to use this information to help plan the delivery of healthcare, help identify areas to target public health messages, and ensure we understand how best to care for this group of patients.REC name
South West - Frenchay Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/SW/0118
Date of REC Opinion
21 Sep 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion