WHSC : Wales – Home Safety Information
In the UK every year more than 4,000 people die in home accidents and around 2.7 million attend accident and emergency centres.
Wales has a population of 2.9 million people and every year 1,100 die as a result of an injury – many of these are as a direct result of an accident in the home.
In 2001 and 2002 there were
- more than 100,000 accident and emergency attendances per year due to accidents in the home
- more than 12,000 people a year were admitted to hospital with an injury from a home accident.
The breakdown of causes of injuries that result in hospitalisation are shown in the following diagram:
A breakdown of accidents that occur across the various age groups shows a change in the cause of accidents through the years.
Falls
Accidental falls are a major cause of injury in older people. In Wales every year there are around 4,200 hip fractures, many as the result of an accidental fall. About one quarter of people with such fractures die within six months of the injury and half of survivors fail to gain their previous independence.
The average length of hospital stay for a patient with a hip fracture is five weeks – but can be as long as six months. Around £84m is spent each year on hip fractures by health and social services and at any one time patients recovering from hip fractures occupy 400 hospital beds in Wales. This does not include time off work for those caring for injured relatives or the emotional trauma that individuals and families under go with any accident.
Of those who attended accident and emergency departments in Wales in 2001-2002 - nearly 20,000 were aged 65 plus.
Of these more than - 4,600 were admitted to hospital.
Children
The most vulnerable people in society are the old and the very young. During 2001 and 2002 of the 100,000 people who attended accident and emergency departments with a home injury, - over 13,000 were children aged 0-4.
And of these nearly - 1,000 were admitted to hospital.
This means that a person’s home – the place where they should feel the most safe and secure – can be the most dangerous place for them to be. The statistics show that accidents in the home are extremely common – and can be extremely serious. A scald to a young child can result in years of hospital visits for skin grafts and follow up surgery.
Accidents are preventable
Interventions such as
- stairgates and fireguards for young children,
- thermostatic mixing valves on baths and showers to cap the temperature water leaves the tap
- safety catches on windows
- extra hand rails on stairs and grab rails in bathrooms
- smoke alarms
- carbon monoxide detectors
- electric blanket testing
- good lighting
- lockable cupboards for medicines
- correct footwear
- safe and suitable environment to live in
These can all play a major part in preventing accidents. Education, information and design factors also play their part.
The Wales Home Safety Council seeks to work alongside other safety minded organisations to reduce the number of home accidents for everyone.
The Wales Home Safety Council seeks to work with other agencies and organisations to reduce the number of home accidents that occur each year in Wales.
Wales Home Safety Council – making the home a safer environment.
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