12 January 2024 , 12:17
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Plastic surgeons say they are treating double the number of patients who have been attacked by dogs since before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Admissions for dog-attack victims rose from 116 in 2019 to 237 in 2022 at the plastic surgery unit of Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead, West Sussex.
Siva Kumar, a consultant surgeon, told the BBC he had seen an increase in the number of bites as dog ownership in the UK rose during the pandemic. Mr Kumar’s trauma clinics have treated patients from Kent, Surrey and Sussex, and he says the specialist centre has often seen some of the most severe cases.
He said: "We would get at least one, if not two patients that are dog bites every day. We have seen a doubling in the number of patients that have come through and in the last year we've seen double the number of children that have had dog bites. Children are probably the ones that affect you the most. Ones with multiple dog bites with scarring that they will carry through the rest of their lives."
According to NHS Digital, the number of hospital admissions for dog bites has steadily increased over the last 10 years. In 2022-23, there were 9,277, up 47% from 6,317 in 2012-13. The government has said it is working with police to prevent attacks.
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Queen Victoria Hospital has seen more than double the usual amount of dog-attack victims (Google)The national data also found that hospital admissions for under-18s suffering dog bites saw a much smaller increase, up by just 8% to 1,740 in the same time period. While these figures did show a rise in admissions for dog bites, it's important to note that one bite can result in multiple admissions and some hospital admissions may not be included in the dataset.
The news comes off the back of major changes to the Dangerous Dog Act following months of The Mirror's Time For Action campaign. Earlier this year, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the XL Bully breed would become the fifth banned dog breed under UK law after the country saw a string of horrifying attacks connected the breed.
Some of these attacks have involved children and resulted in fatal injuries. In September last year, 52-year-old father Ian Price, was attacked and killed by two dogs as he tried to protect his elderly mum in Stonall, Staffordshire. The breed was also found to have carried out half of the fatal dog attacks in the UK since the pandemic. American XL Bullies, or similar breeds, were suspected to be involved in 12 out of 23 dog attacks resulting in death.
Under the new law, XL Bully owners will have to register their dogs from January, and it will be considered a crime to sell or abandon the breed.