Gunshot wound injuries: What does the hospital data say about firearms?

Friday, 21 July 2023

What’s the issue?

We have all heard or read about the rise, or perceived rise, in gun crime violence, particularly in Auckland.

National Party leader Chris Luxon says it's because the current government is soft on crime, and Act says it’s nurturing gangs and punishing responsible firearm owners that led to the increase.

Labour maintains it’s under control, having launched its new digital Firearms Registry, which police say will make it harder for gangs and criminals to acquire guns.

“The Registry will give us a much clearer picture of where all the licensed firearms are, and especially when they are changing hands,” Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said.

But people are scared. There’s been what feels like an endless stream of firearms incidents.

A shooting in Auckland's central city left three people dead on Thursday, including the shooter, with at least 10 injured too.

There’s also been offenders brandishing guns at retail workers in frequent aggravated robberies, homicide investigations, and schools constantly locking down for potential or actual firearm threats.

So what does the hospital data say about guns?

What we found

Te Whatu Ora said there are five categories of gun-related hospitalisations.

The first is an accident caused by a firearm missile, and then there is suicide and self-inflicted injury by firearms.

Another code is assault by firearms, as well as injury due to legal intervention by firearms, and injury by firearms undetermined if accidental or on purpose.

The health agency provided Stuff with a breakdown of gunshot related injuries nationally and at each hospital up until 2022.

The data showed 2021 – in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic – was the busiest period in the last five years for doctors dealing with gunshot wounds.

It said there were 240 people who received treatment for a firearms related injury in the 2021/2022 financial year.

This was an increase on the 208 seen in the 2020/2021 year, which was another increase on the 192 seen in 2019/2020.

That climbed back to 209 in 2018/2019, before dropping to 155 in 2017/2018 and 158 in 2016/2017.

“Please note that increases in gunshot wound presentations to hospitals reflect wider issues unrelated to the public health system; however we remain committed to treating anyone who presented to our emergency departments, regardless of injury, illness age or gender,” the OIA response said.

Te Whatu Ora declined an interview request about the data.

Regional breakdown

At Whangarei Hospital in 2022, six men appeared with gunshot wounds, while Bay of Islands and Kaitaia hospitals each saw less than five.

The exact number, if under five, was withheld “to protect the privacy of natural persons, including deceased natural persons”, the OIA response said.

Less than five women also appeared at Kaitaia hospital last year.

This increased in 2021 where 11 men and less than five women appeared at Whangarei Hospital with gunshot wounds.

Bay of Islands and Kaitaia hospitals also saw less than five male patients that year.

This was a significant increase since 2018, when the only people with gunshot injuries in Northland were the less than five men that turned up at Whangarei Hospital.

It was much busier in Auckland, with 30 male patients and 11 females with gunshot wounds in Auckland Hospital last year, and less than five males in Starship Hospital.

Comparatively, in 2021, there were 34 male patients and less than five females with gunshot wounds in Auckland Hospital.

The numbers decreased for every year prior, with 11 male patients and less than five females with gunshot wounds in Auckland Hospital and less than five males at Starship Hospital in 2018.

Middlemore Hospital last year saw 30 males and less than five females with gunshot wounds.

In 2021, that jumped to 37 male patients and less than five women.

It decreased to 29 males and less than five females in 2020, before jumping up again to 37 males and less than five females in 2019.

It decreased to 27 male patients with gunshot wounds in 2018.

Last year in Hamilton’s Waikato Hospital there were 21 male patients and less than five female with gunshot wounds.

That jumped to 30 males and less than five females in 2021.

There were 21 male patients and less than five women with gunshot wounds in 2020, with 26 men and less than five women presenting in 2019.

In 2018, there were 22 male patients and less than five females with gunshot wounds in Waikato Hospital.

Waikato Hospital trauma director Grant Christey told the Waikato Times, by volume, gunshot wounds are a tiny part of what they see at the hospital.

“We see over 3000 admissions a year, and we see one gunshot a month, so it’s very small numbers.”

“Penetrating injury – which is all gunshots, stabs, people getting impaled – is only 4% of our major trauma load and gunshot is a tiny portion of those. We see nearly twice as many nail gun injuries as we see gunshot injuries.”

He said of the gunshot injuries that Waikato Hospital sees, about 37% are inflicted by someone else, 50% are unintentional while a small proportion are attempted suicides.

Last year in the Te Whatu Ora Lakes region, there was less than five male patients and less than five females with gunshot wounds in Rotorua Hospital, with less than five males in Taupō Hospital.

That rose to seven male patients in Rotorua Hospital in 2021, with none in Taupō.

In 2020, there were eight male patients and less than five females with gunshot wounds in Rotorua Hospital with less than five males in Taupō Hospital.

Those numbers dropped to less than five males and females in Rotorua in 2019, with less than five males at Taupō.

There were also less than five male patients and less than five females with gunshot wounds in Gisborne Hospital last year.

But it was more than double that in 2021, with 12 male patients and less than five females with gunshot wounds in Gisborne Hospital.

That dropped back down to less than five male patients in 2021, seven males and less than five females in 2019 and six men and less than five women in 2018.

In the capital city, there were 11 male patients and less than five females with gunshot wounds in Wellington Hospital last year.

There was also less than five males and less than five females at Hutt Hospital.

It dropped to eight male patients and less than five females with gunshot wounds at Wellington Hospital in 2021, with less than five males also at Hutt Hospital.

There were less than five male patients in Wellington Hospital for 2020 and 2019, rising slightly to seven in 2018.

For female patients with a firearm injury, there were less than five in 2020, none in 2019, and less than five in 2018.

For 2020, 2019 and 2018 there were less than five males presenting each year at Hutt Hospital.

In Christchurch, there were eight male patients with gunshot wounds last year. But the year before that there were 12 male patients and less than five females.

That dropped to 11 male patients in 2020, before rising to 18 male patients and less than five females in 2019.

There were 38 male patients and less than five females with gunshot wounds in Christchurch Hospital in 2018 due to the March 15 terror attack.