Question reference: S6W-25000
- Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 31 January 2024
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Current status: Answered by Maree Todd on 26 February 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what data it has on cases of intentional paracetamol overdose.
Answer
Data is not held centrally specifically on intentional paracetamol overdose . However, the following table shows the most recent data on inpatient and day-case admissions to hospital as a result of intentional paracetamol poisoning, which includes overdose cases.
Financial year | Number of admissions |
2018-19 | 4808 |
2019-20 | 5132 |
2020-21 | 4976 |
2021-22 | 4997 |
2022-23 | 4104 |
Source: Public Health Scotland
Not all paracetamol overdose cases result in hospital admission, as they can be effectively responded to by the Scottish Ambulance Service or in other healthcare settings. Data is not available on these cases due to recording and reporting practices across services.