Dr Adrian Boyle, president of The Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said the body is sharing anonymous information about knife crime with the police to help prevent further crime.
Separate figures published on Thursday by the Office for National Statistics showed that under-18s accounted for 15% (40) of the 262 victims of homicides involving a knife or sharp instrument in England and Wales in 2023/24, up from 13% (32 out of 243) in 2022/23 and the highest percentage in 10 years.
There were 3,900 instances of patients being admitted to hospital in 2023/24 where the cause was assault by a knife or sharp object, of which 13.1% (509) were aged zero to 17.
Patrick Green, from anti-knife crime charity the Ben Kinsella Trust, said: “It’s a worrying stat, and indicates that knife crime is affecting young people disproportionately.”.
The figures point to a long-term shift in the age breakdown of hospital admissions in England for assault by a knife or sharp object.
