BEING SAFE AT HOME IS MORE THAN JUST LOCKING DOORS

On average, every day in Australia, a staggering 5,000 children need medical attention due to accidents often incurred at home. Many of these accidents could be prevented if Aussie families made their homes a safer place and had some basic first aid knowledge.

Home & Play Safety Day on Wednesday 17 September 2003, is a national first aid awareness campaign that has been set-up by The Wound Foundation of Australia to bring simple precautions and first aid knowledge to the attention of Australians that could mean the difference between life and death for a child.

"Home & Play Safety Day is about educating Australians on how to prevent accidents and how to be prepared if one does occur," says Geoff Sussman, founder of Australia's leading authority on wounds, The Wound Foundation of Australia.

"The injury statistics are sobering with the most common place for children to be injured being in the home. For many children, home is not the safe-haven it should be, but with some simple actions from parents and carers, that situation can be turned around.

"Clearly, children are being injured needlessly. The good news is you don't have to be an expert to be prepared for accidents. We are urging Aussie families this Home & Play Safety Day to take the time to look around the home for potential hazards and make sure they have the right first aid equipment."

The day's ambassador is Conrad Coleby, star of Channel Seven's medical drama, All Saints. "Playing an ambulance officer on All Saints, I'm confronted by accidents on a day-to-day basis. Lucky for me, these are not real scenarios,' says Conrad. "But unfortunately, accidents do happen and it can certainly help if people are prepared."

With an estimated 5 million trips to Australian hospital emergency departments each year, it is vital that people have a basic understanding of first aid.

Falls, poisoning, scalds, choking and dog bites are the most common cause of hospitalisation for young children. Over 1,000 children under the age of five are taken to hospital emergency departments each year for the treatments of burns. This is more than three per day.

"Scalds and burns can be a common injury sustained in the home - it is particularly serious for young children, as their skin is much thinner than that of adults and prone to more severe injury," Mr Sussman explained.

"Simple precautions can help reduce the chance of burns, such as getting a plumber to install a thermostat reducing-valve to reduce the temperature of water coming from the tap, to less than 50°C and always running hot and cold water together, not hot alone," said Mr Sussman.

Having the right first aid equipment on hand can often ease the pain, prevent the injury from getting worse and kick-start the healing process, not to mention help avoid unnecessary trips to our stretched emergency departments.

According to a Newspoll survey conducted in 2002, only a quarter of all Australians have all the necessary products in their first aid cabinets to treat minor injuries.

The Wound Foundation of Australia advises Australian households to have eight essential items in their first aid cabinet:
Eight essential first aid items for every home:

• Elastic bandage
• A triangular bandage or sling
• Cotton swabs
• Waterproof film dressing
• First aid tape
• Surgical gloves
• Antiseptic
• Saline solution

Australians are encouraged to use Home & Play Safety Day as a reminder to check their cupboards, make a list of what's missing and pick up those necessary first aid items on their next trip to the pharmacy.

The Wound Foundation of Australia also recommends that Australians build their own first aid kits. "Ready-made first aid kits are expensive and often contain items that may never be used. It is far more sensible and cost-effective for households to build their own, specifically suited to the family's needs," Mr Sussman said.

In addition to the basic kit, The Wound Foundation of Australia suggests households purchase additional products to suit their household needs. A high-stretch bandage for applying compression after injury and an ice pack is useful for sport-loving households. Sensitive skin products are a sensible alternative for young children, the elderly and for those with problem skin.

Home & Play Safety Day is supported by an educational and interactive website (www.safetyday.com.au) which contains tips on first aid and dealing with accidents, as well as emergency phone numbers and downloadable lesson plans for primary schools. There's also 'Safety Sally' who guides children through the website and highlights hazards in the home.

More information is available by calling (02) 9904 0666 or visiting www.safetyday.com.au

About The Wound Foundation of Australia: The Wound Foundation of Australia is a non-profit organisation, based at Monash University in Melbourne, dedicated to improving the treatment of wounds in Australia, and all around the world.

About BSN Medical: BSN Medical, producers of first aid products such as Handy Bandages® and Leukoplast® first aid tapes, is helping to promote Home & Play Safety Day for The Wound Foundation of Australia.