Regionally, 1,472 under fours were rushed to casualty after a home accident, including falling down a flight of stairs or being poisoned after consuming bleach and medicines.
As part of Child Safety Week, the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) is launching new television and radio adverts to highlight the message that children are at high risk from accidents in the home.
Supporting the week is Rob Swallow, a paramedic from East Midlands Ambulance Service, who works across Nottinghamshire, said:
"Child Safety week is a great way to highlight that by taking some simple preventative measures then the amount of parents needing to call 999 can be reduced.
"Being a parent of a young child myself, I know how difficult it is to stop children from getting bangs and scrapes - only the other day my five year old son banged his head on a radiator - but by taking a few simple steps we can try and prevent more serious accidents happening like burns and falls down the stairs. One of the most horrific injuries we see involving young children is where they have pulled a pan of hot water over their heads, which is every parents' worse nightmare.
"One way is to look at the home from a child's point of view to identify potential hazards and then make the small changes necessary to make it safer."
Tips for making home safer include:
- keeping hot drinks away from young children
- fit window locks or safety catches to stop windows opening more than 6.5cm / 2.5
- keep medicines and cleaning products out of sight and reach
- fit carbon monoxide alarms wherever there is a naked flame, for example, gas boilers or open fires
- fit and maintain a smoke alarm - you should have one on each level of your home and test it weekly. Ideal places are at the top and bottom of staircases, on stair landings and between living and sleeping areas
- don't bring any mains-powered electrical appliances, such as, hairdryers, hair straighteners or plugged-in radios into a bathroom, even if they are plugged in outside the room
Katrina Phillips, Chief Executive of the Child Accident Prevention Trust says:
"Accidents are the second biggest killer of children in the UK. Six children die every week and over 2,000 are admitted to hospital. Most families are well aware of the dangers to children. But an alarming number don't put their knowledge into practice.
We know it's hard when you're busy caring for a young child. And it's easy to think that a serious accident won't happen to your child. But taking a few simple safety precautions can make a real difference to their safety."
Further information about how to keep children safe from serious accidents can be found by visiting http://www.capt.org.uk or http://www.direct.gov.uk/childsafety
Ends
Notes to Editors
Child Safety Week
Child Safety Week runs every year in the last full week of June and is organised by national charity Child Accident Prevention Trust. The Week is about getting simple, practical child safety advice to parents and families. This year the theme is, "Make a change. Make a difference", small changes, like buying a safety gate or remembering not to leave cleaning products or medicines within easy reach of toddlers, can make a big difference to your child's safety. For more information on child safety,
Child Accident Prevention Trust
The Child Accident Prevention Trust is a national charity committed to reducing the number of children and young people killed, disabled and seriously injured as a result of accidents. It is the national organiser of Child Safety Week. For more information visit http://www.capt.org.uk
Issued by COI News and PR East Midlands
