Home and garden safety
Every year in the UK almost 4,000 people die in accidents in the home and 2.7 million turn up at accident and emergency departments seeking treatment. But, because the accidents happen behind closed doors in isolated incidents they rarely attract public and media attention.
Avoid injury from sharp home and garden tools to users or children by keeping them in good repair and safely tidied away after use. Keep children safely away whenever using lawnmowers, doing DIY projects or household repairs.
Always use personal protective equipment including gloves, goggles, helmet, and facemask and safety shoes as appropriate and recommended for the task and follow manufacturers’ instructions.
Stay safe from fire by testing smoke alarms monthly and be sure all the family know how to escape in the event of a fire.
Avoid burns and scalds, particularly to children, by always using the cooker’s back ring or hotplate first and position panhandles so that they can’t be pulled over and by keeping hot drinks out of reach of children.
Reduce the likelihood of household fires and carbon monoxide poisoning from faulty flues or equipment by having gas, oil or solid fuel heating appliances (...) Read more
Preventing food related accidents
Young children should be supervised at mealtimes and not given sweets or and other food while playing reduce the risk of choking on food.
Certain foods can cause particular problems. Reconstituted meat such as hot dogs or burgers can be difficult for young children to swallow. Raw vegetables can also pose a choking risk and should be cut into small strips. Boiled sweets and nuts – particularly peanuts - are also frequent causes of choking and should not (...) Read more
- Avoid trips, slips and falls by ensuring halls & stairways are always well lit and free from clutter.
Change light bulbs safely, without the risk of falling by using a stable step–stool. Avoid using old chairs to climb on. To minimise the risk of falls from windows, install and use restrictor catches on all upstairs windows and place furniture away from windows. Reduce trips, slips and falls by always quickly cleaning up spills. Avoid injury from falls from ladders by always (...) Read more
Poisoning or chemical burns can be prevented storing medicines and household chemicals out of sight and out of reach of children, preferably in a secure, high-level kitchen cupboard. Avoid poisoning and chemical burns by storing chemicals for use in garage or garden safely out of sight and out of reach of children, preferably in a secure cabinet. Prevent accidental poisoning or injuries to yourself or others by carefully following manufacturers instructions when using weed killers, (...) Read more
