[Report 1958] / Medical Officer of Health, Alton R.D.C.

  • Alton (England). Rural District Council.
Date:
1958
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1958] / Medical Officer of Health, Alton R.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    The following table shows the figures classified by a^e, sex and type of accident:- HOME ACCIDENTS - JANUARY TO DECEMBER. Approximate percentage of populat- ion at age groups. ! Age I 1 Cuts Burns & Scalds Falls Misc- ell- aneous Total M. F. M. F. M. . F. | Mo F. 8 4 5 9 5 7 10 7 9 56 15 5-11* a 4 4 3 2 6 11 9 47 66 15-64 10 29 9 8 2 20 18 22 118 11 65+ - - 1 2 4 1 8 16 Totals: 22 38 . 22 17 13 . 40 . 37 . 48 237 60 L39 53 85 More than 6,000 persons die each year in England and Wales as a result of home accidents and 700 of such fatalities are due to burns and scalds- It is impossible to state the number of non- fatal accidents in the home but it has been estimated that every year at least 5,000 people require hospital treatment for burns and scalds caused in the home* Children under 5 and old people make up the great majority of victims,, In an effort to help reduce the number of home accidents the Government in November sponsored a national publicity campaign on guarding fires - under the slogan of Guard that Fire- In additio] publicity through posters, local effort was concentrated on the giv- ing of talks to various women’s organisations. The public need to be kept aware of dangers in the home. Them are four main causes of fatal home accidents - falls, poisoning, burns and scalds and suffocation. Falls account for nearly two- thirds of fatal home accidents and three-quarters of them affect people aged 75 years and over. Unsatisfactory design of houses, uneven floors, an odd step in passages, lack of a stair-rail, failing vision are all contributory factors. Poisoning mostly affects young children and medicines, tablets, liniments and house- hold cleaning agents should be kept in locked cupboards out of read of children. Burns and scalds in the home account for some J00 deaths every year in England and Wales. Half of these deaths are caused by clotl ing coming into contact with unguarded fires and undoubtedly the mol effective way to reduce such accidents is by use of a properly desif ed and fixed fireguard. Danger aan also be reduced by the use of safer garments particularly for women and children. Almost all lii weight fabrics in common use are flammable; cotton garments are moi IQ-