Families in Rochdale are being urged by the Royal Society for the Prevention Accidents (RoSPA) to take action to protect their children from the risks of household cleaning products.
The latest phase of the Take Action Today campaign, supported by Fairy Non Bio, is being launched on Thursday 28th March 2019 at Nye Bevan House in Rochdale.
This follows the scheme’s success in Birmingham, Liverpool, and other areas across the UK, where over 300,000 families have been helped to prevent poisoning and eye injuries. Over the next few months, the campaign will be delivered across the North West.
In Rochdale, accidental poisonings accounted for 105 emergency admissions for 0 – 4 year olds between 2014/15- 2016/17. This is significantly above the average for the North West and England for the period.
Children’s health services in Rochdale, provided by Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, are supporting the campaign by sharing important safety advice with parents. This includes giving out handy magnetic notepads, featuring safety messages to approximately 16,000 families, via public health nurses, health visitors, children’s centres and parent and toddler groups.
Ashley Martin, RoSPA’s acting public health adviser, said: “The notepad acts as a constant reminder in family kitchens to store cleaning products out of reach, out of sight and in a locked cupboard.
“Due to their inquisitive nature, children under the age of five are most at risk of accidentally swallowing or getting household cleaning products, like liquid laundry capsules, into their eyes. Even products with a child-resistant closure cannot guarantee safety – they only reduce the risk by delaying access to the product.”
Emma Gerrard, representative for Fairy Non Bio said: “We are extremely pleased to be able to support the Take Action Today programme, to help spread the vital message that household cleaning and laundry products can be dangerous in children’s hands and must always be closed securely in their packaging and stored out of reach and sight. Together we hope to change parents’ and carers’ behaviour when it comes to safe use and storage of household cleaning products and drive a reduction in incidents in the North West of England.”
Cath Smith, manager of Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale health visiting service, part of Pennine Care, said: “Children under five are most at risk of accidental poisoning from household products. The bright coloured capsules or containers make them more interesting to young children, and they can mistake them for toys or sweets. Parents can reduce the risk of injury or distress by keeping household chemicals, capsules or tablets out of sight, out of reach and in secure, unbroken containers.”
