Community pharmacies deliver vital home safety messages

On average two people die every week in Northern Ireland as a result of an accident in the home and with this in mind a new pharmacy campaign has been launched with the aim of preventing home accidents.

The ‘Home Accident Prevention’ campaign is running in local community pharmacies as part of the Living Well service. It aims to reduce the number of accidents in the home by raising community awareness of hazards and increasing knowledge on how to eliminate risks. The campaign will run throughout December and January.

Living Well is offered in over 500 pharmacies across Northern Ireland and provides information and advice on public health issues. It is delivered in partnership with the Public Health Agency (PHA), Community Pharmacy NI (CPNI), and the Department of Health (DoH).

Janine Gaston, Home Accident Prevention Lead at the PHA, said: “There are around 17,000 admissions to hospital each year as a result of unintentional injuries. More accidents happen in the home than anywhere else. This can have a significant impact for those affected and their families and can also lead to significant pressure and cost for Health and Social Care, other statutory services and wider society.”

Home accidents can arise from many seemingly harmless sources such as ill-fitting footwear, unsecured blind cords, or from practices and behaviours such as not using appropriate lighting at night.

“The vast majority of accidental injuries and deaths in the home are caused by falls, but serious injury and death can result from a wide range of accidents, such as carbon monoxide poisoning, inhalation of smoke caused by fire, and blind cord strangulation,” Janine said.

“These deaths and injuries can easily be prevented by being aware of the dangers and hazards that are present in the home environment and putting in place interventions to minimise the risks.”

Pharmacist Orfhlaith McAreavey from McAreavey Pharmacy in Belfast said community pharmacy is the ideal setting to help encourage people to look after their health by engaging in initiatives like the ‘Home Accident Prevention’ campaign.

“Statistics show that children under the age of five, older people and those who are vulnerable are most likely to have an accident at home. The most common causes of home accidents for children under the age of five are poisonings; choking; suffocation and strangulation; falls; burns and scalds; and drowning. Falls are the most common accident for all age groups and young children and older people are especially at risk. We will be getting the message out to our local communities that accidents at home are preventable and there are steps we can take to minimise the risks. Please ask pharmacy staff for further information.”

Local councils also offer a PHA-funded free Home Safety Check to families with children under five, people aged over 65 and those who are vulnerable. People can contact their local council and ask for the Home Safety team. For contact details for councils in Northern Ireland visit www.nidirect.gov.uk/contacts/local-councils-in-northern-ireland

As part of the Living Well campaign, community pharmacies across Northern Ireland are providing free information booklets to members of the public, ‘Home safety –How to spot hazards’. A copy of this leaflet can be found at www.pha.site/Living-Well  

Further information on preventing accidents is also available from NI Direct at www.pha.site/safety-home the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) at www.rospa.com/home-safety/advice and Children Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT) at www.capt.org.uk/pages/category/safety-advice-injury-types/