1 Session 2 Putting Home Safety in Context

2 Death and Injury Statistics Accidents are a major cause of death and injury in the UK Each year on average… 13,000 people die 500,000 people are admitted to hospital 7 million people attend A & E

3 Accidental Deaths (UK 2002) Total Deaths = 12,367 estimated Other 34% Home 32% Road 29% Work 3% Source: Office of National Statistics, Registrar’s General Scotland and Northern Ireland 2002

4 It’ll Never Happen To Me…

5 The Child Health Picture 1 – 4 years 5-14 years Death rate per million population How do injuries compare to other child health problems ? Injuries Cancer Diseases of Nervous System Injuries Congenital Abnormalities Diseases of the Nervous System Source: ONS 1997

6 The Scale Of The Problem During 2002 : Its estimated that over 320 children under the age of 15 died as the result of an accident Over 2 million children attended A&E as a result of accidents – about half of these happen in the home. Source: Child Accident Prevention Trust

7 Home Accidents to Children Facts: 42% of all accidents involve falls of some kind (9 deaths) 72% of burn and scald injuries to children happen to the under 5s Accidents involving glass have increases over recent years Around 27,000 receive hospital treatment as a result of poisoning

8 Home Accidents to Children by Injury – UK 2002 Source: Home Accident Surveillance System 2002

9 Suspected Poisonings Involving Household Items National Estimate 33,272 UK 2002 Source: Home Accident Surveillance System 2002

10 Location Of Accidents Age 0-4 – UK 2002 Kitchen Utility 9% Living room/Dining room 23% Bathroom 3% Bedroom 12% Stairs inside 7% Hall/Lobby 3% Garden 8% Patio/terrace 4% Unspecified/indoors 13%Unspecified outdoors 12% Source: Home Accident Surveillance System 2002 Other 6%

11 Location Of Accidents Age 0-14 – UK 2002 Source: Home Accident Surveillance System 2002

12 Where Do Accidents Happen? The most serious happen in the kitchen and on the stairs The largest number of accidents happen in the living room

13 When Do Accidents Happen ? The most common time of day for accidents to occur is in the evening between 6.00 and 7.00pm More accidents happen on a Sunday than any other day of the week More accidents happen in the summer with a peak in July

14 Causes of Accidents Behavioural Lapses of attention Mistaken actions Attitude Immaturity Immobility Environmental Design Product safety Layout of room Social factors Inequalities Culture Isolation/loneliness

15 Why Do Children Have Accidents? Small stature Inquisitiveness Bravado and horse play Stress Inexperience Inadequate supervision

16 The Cost Of Accidents The annual treatment costs of accidents is estimated at : £2.2 billion (7% of NHS expenditure) £200 million – child accidents

17 Downward Trend Increased smoke alarm ownership Safer consumer products Improvements in medical care Changes in child behaviour, reducing exposure to hazards Increased child restraint and seat belt use and improved vehicle design

18 Who Is At Risk ? On average one child in twelve will be treated for a home accident, each year Half of those treated will be under four Boys are more likely to have an accident than girls Children are more likely to revisit A&E following another accident

19 Interventions Education Environment Engineering Enforcement Empowerment

20 Prevention Primary –Preventing the accident from happening. Secondary –Reducing the risk of severity of injury once the event has occurred. Tertiary –Minimising the consequences of an injury

21 Prevention Active –Safety achieved by a deliberate action Passive –Prevention provided without the need for repeated human actions.

22 Prevention Active Putting hot and cold water in the bath separately Putting medicines out of reach of children Use rear hotplates on cooker and turn handles away from front Passive Fitting a thermostatic mixing valve to hot water Supplying medicines in a Child-resistant containers Building houses with mains-powered smoke Alarms

23 A Final Thought… Accidental injury is the biggest single cause of death in UK children 3 children die in accidents every day Accidents result in 10,000 children being permanently disabled each year

24 A Happy Ending…