Statistics

Using hospital admissions statistics, Headway has compiled a dataset on all acquired brain injury (ABI) related hospital admissions in the UK. These include non-superficial head injuries, strokes, brain tumours, encephalitis, and a variety of additional conditions.

Prior to the global 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, we were seeing a gradual increase in the number of annual UK hospital admissions for acquired brain injury (ABI).

Since the pandemic, there has been a drop in the number of ABI hospital admissions in the UK, led mainly by a significant reduction in the number of head injury admissions. Research has attributed the reduction in head injury admissions to changes in societal behaviours during pandemic-related lockdown measures and changes in the mechanisms of injury, such as a reduction in head injury related road traffic collisions.

Whilst admissions for head injury have decreased since the pandemic, we continue to see an increase in hospital admissions for stroke and brain tumours.

Key statistics

• There were 335,409 UK hospital admissions for acquired brain injury (ABI) in 2023-24.
  

• There were approximately 919 ABI UK hospital admissions per day in 2023-24. This equates to one every 90 seconds.
  

• There were 123,969 UK hospital admissions for head injury in 2023-24. This equates to one every four minutes.
  

• Males were 1.5x more likely than females to be admitted to a UK hospital for a head injury in 2023-24.
  

• There were 143,446 UK hospital admissions for stroke in 2023-24. That equates to one every four minutes.
  

• There were 42,892 UK hospital admissions for brain tumours in 2023-24.

Access the data sets

Browse through and download the full data tables below. These allow you to see details of hospital admissions by type of brain injury, age, year and location where available.

These datasets can be used to support a wide range of brain injury-related needs from funding applications to service planning and campaigning.

• ABI UK wide and nationwide admissions

• East Midlands residents ABI admissions

• East of England residents ABI admissions

• London residents ABI admissions

• North East residents ABI admissions

• North West residents ABI admissions

• Northern Ireland Local Commissioning Groups resident admissions

• Scotland Health Board resident admissions 

• South East residents ABI admissions

• South West residents ABI admissions

• Wales Healthboard residents ABI admissions

• West Midlands residents ABI admissions

• Yorkshire and Humberside residents ABI admissions