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Water related accidents

I am writing to formally request detailed data on water-related accidents within the South Waikato District that resulted in either time off work or hospitalisation. This data is essential for supporting water safety programmes and informing legislation related to swimming pool ownership, as well as enhancing community awareness regarding water hazards. Specific Data Requested: Accident Data (2013-2023): Number of water-related incidents that led to: Hospitalisations (including duration of stay, if available). Time off work (ACC claims or medical leave records, specifying number of days off). Breakdown of incidents by: Activity type (e.g., swimming, fishing, boating, falls, etc.). Location type (e.g., private pools, public pools, rivers, lakes, beaches). Age, gender, and ethnicity of individuals involved. Severity of incidents (minor injuries, major injuries, fatalities). Hospitalisation Data: Number of water-related hospital admissions (2013-2023). Demographics of patients (age, gender, ethnicity). Common causes for hospitalisation (e.g., drowning, near-drowning, other water-related injuries). Time of year (monthly or quarterly breakdown, if available) to identify seasonal patterns. Workplace Accident Data: ACC claim statistics specific to water-related injuries in the district. Number of claims involving time off work due to water-related incidents. Average time off work due to these accidents. Formats Requested: CSV, Excel: Preferred for raw data to allow analysis in programs like Excel or ArcGIS. PDF reports: For any summary reports or case studies. Shapefiles or GeoJSON: If any geospatial data is available related to accident locations for mapping and further analysis.

Purpose of Request:
This data will support the development of water safety awareness programmes and swimming pool legislation. It will also contribute to public health initiatives aimed at reducing water-related accidents and improving safety in the South Waikato District.

Opening access to this data would help us:

Identify high-risk demographics and locations.
Improve the targeting of educational campaigns and safety measures.
Guide local policy development for swimming pool ownership and usage regulations.
Enhance the community's understanding of water-related risks and accident prevention strategies.
Thank you for considering this request. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require further clarification or additional details.


Response from
Accident Compensation Corporation

Dataset submitted

18 October 2024 Info@data.govt.nz Kia ora Your Official Information Act request, reference: GOV-035580 Thank you for your email of 1 October 2024, asking for the following information under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act): "I am writing to formally request detailed data on water-related accidents within the South Waikato District that resulted in either time off work or hospitalisation. This data is essential for supporting water safety programmes and informing legislation related to swimming pool ownership, as well as enhancing community awareness regarding water hazards. Specific Data Requested: Accident Data (2013-2023): Number of water-related incidents that led to: Hospitalisations (including duration of stay, if available). Time off work (ACC claims or medical leave records, specifying number of days off). Breakdown of incidents by: Activity type (e.g., swimming, fishing, boating, falls, etc.). Location type (e.g., private pools, public pools, rivers, lakes, beaches). Age, gender, and ethnicity of individuals involved. Severity of incidents (minor injuries, major injuries, fatalities). Hospitalisation Data: Number of water-related hospital admissions (2013-2023). Demographics of patients (age, gender, ethnicity). Common causes for hospitalisation (e.g., drowning, near-drowning, other water-related injuries). Time of year (monthly or quarterly breakdown, if available) to identify seasonal patterns. Workplace Accident Data: ACC claim statistics specific to water-related injuries in the district. Number of claims involving time off work due to water-related incidents. Average time off work due to these accidents." The information we are able to provide is here: https://catalogue.data.govt.nz/dataset/gov-035580-data-regarding-water-related-accidents/resource/34fd43ff-7ce8-4c1e-9dc6-0f743540afd8 When interpreting the data provided, please refer to the ‘Notes’ tab. Claim counts fewer than four: Some values in the tables only indicate that the claim count is fewer than four (denoted as <4). In other instances, values are suppressed and notated as (..). This limits the potential for particular individuals, or matters specific to certain individuals, from being identified. This decision has been made under section 9(2)(a) of the Act. In doing so, we have considered the public interest in making the information available and have determined that it does not outweigh the need to protect our clients’ privacy. Hospitalisation data: We are unable to provide the hospitalisation data requested, as it is not held by ACC. We have attempted to transfer this part of your request to Health New Zealand (Te Whatu Ora) under section 14 of the Act, but have not heard back yet. We suggest you make a request directly to Health New Zealand for the parts of your request regarding hospitalisations. As this information may be of interest to other members of the public: ACC may publish a copy of this response on ACC’s website. All requester data, including your name and contact details, will be removed prior to release. The released response will be made available www.acc.co.nz/resources/#/category/12 If you have any questions about this response, please get in touch You can email me at GovernmentServices@acc.co.nz. If you are not happy with this response, you can also contact the Ombudsman via info@ombudsman.parliament.nz or by phoning 0800 802 602. Information about how to make a complaint is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz. Ngā mihi Christopher Johnston Manager Official Information Act Services Government Engagement

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