The impact of a temporary ice rink on a local emergency department service.

Ice skating is becoming more popular throughout the UK, with temporary ice rinks opening in many city centres during holiday periods, especially during Christmas. Data were collected from patients who presented to the local emergency department with injuries sustained on a nearby city-centre temporary ice rink. Injuries related to ice rinks accounted for 0.76% of all emergency department attendances and represented 0.29% of ice rink participants (2.9 per 1000). Women in the older age range sustained the most significant injuries. Our study has shown that the rate of injuries per 1000 ice rink participants is comparable with data recorded when a new ice rink is opened.