BID TO PROTECT KIDS FROM INJURY FALLS FLAT
NEW childhood injury data shows the bubble-wrapping of kids in the past decade has not made them any safer.
An Australian study out today reveals there were 686,409 injury hospitalisations between 2001 and 2012, with no improvement over the years. The shock findings prompted the researchers, from the Australian Institute of Health Innovation, to call for injury prevention to be a top priority. The national injury prevention strategy expired in 2014.
Almost half the kids aged six to 10 who ended up in hospital had suffered a tumble, while under-fives were more likely to have been hit by an object or bumped into something.
While medical advances, trauma management, swimming pool fencing and helmets have all contributed to the survival of children and a reduction in the severity of injuries, the hospitalisation of children is still costing the country $2.1 billion a year.
“There needs to be an urgent injection of cash into prevention,” chief executive of Kidsafe Queensland Susan Teerds said.
“The cost of children in hospital is just the tip of the iceberg. There is such a ripple effect financially when a child is injured.”
In Queensland, 112,324 boys and 64,661 girls under 16 were hospitalised in the period. The injuries most likely to kill were head injuries, transport collisions and drowning. Under-10s were at higher risk of death.
Kai Colless, aged 10, from Burleigh Heads, is a keen surfer and skateboarder.
Mum Brooke said he had broken an arm and a leg from different falls when he was younger. “These things are part of being a child and as long as he is wearing his safety gear I prefer him to be active,” she said.