247 asbestosis hospitalisations in Western Trust

In total 247 people were admitted to local hospitals with the condition from 2012/13 to 2021/22, though the figures for last year remain provisional.

Asbestosis admissions in the Western Trust year-by-year tallied as follows: 2012/13 (18); 2013/14 (19); 2014/15 (37); 2015/16 (27); 2016/17 (21); 2017/18 (29); 2018/19 (29); 2019/20 (28); 2020/21 (23); and 2021/22 (16).

The Health Minister explained that ‘where an individual has been admitted more than once within the year, only the first admission is counted’.

However, the overall figure of 247 may include multiple admissions of single patients over several different years.

The minister further revealed how fifty people were diagnosed with mesothelioma- a form of lung cancer linked to asbestos - in the Western Trust over a recent ten year period.

Information on the number of mesothelioma cancer cases diagnosed in each Trust per year from 2010 to 2019 was provided by the Health Minister Robin Swann in response to an Assembly Question.

The figures are reported on \ biennial basis. Final data for 2020 and 2021 are not currently available.

The number of diagnoses doubled in the Western area from six in 2010/11 to 13 in 2018/19.