Posted by Charlotte Salter, on July 8, 2021.
Families in Calderdale are receiving safety information from the UK Cleaning Products Industry Association (UKCPI) and the Royal Society for the Prevention Accidents (RoSPA), to help them take action to protect their children from accidents with household cleaning products.
The latest phase of the Take Action Today, Put Them Away campaign, funded by UKCPI, is being launched virtually on Thursday 8th July, 2021.
In Calderdale, accidental poisonings accounted for 95 emergency admissions for 0-4 year olds between 2017/18 and 2019/20.
As part of the campaign, a handy magnetic notepad featuring key safety advice will be handed out to thousands of families by health visitors and children’s centre staff.
Ashley Martin, RoSPA’s 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.”
Philip Malpass, Director General of UKCPI, said: “Cleaning products are designed to be safe to use and to provide the clean and hygienic home we often take for granted today. The accidents we see involving young children and cleaning products are avoidable and, whilst the severity of the injuries is generally low, we hope that this campaign will remind parents to follow the usage instructions on the packaging, and in so doing, avoid unnecessary accidents.”
Take action today, put them away advice to parents includes:
• Store household cleaning products out of reach of children, preferably in a locked cupboard
• Always store chemicals in their original containers
• Never pierce or break laundry capsules or tablets
• Always close the lid of any product
• In the event of an incident, follow advice on the product pack and seek medical attention.
Calderdale Council’s Public Health Early Years lead, Rachel Smith, said:
“The largest number of childhood accidents happen in the home and the majority of these are preventable. We’re pleased to support the ‘Take Action Today, Put Them Away’ campaign and promote safety messages around the home environment – something which is especially important as many families may be spending more time in the home due to the COVID pandemic.
“Our early years teams, which includes the Health Visiting service, will be promoting safety advice and handing out notepads with key safety messages and important advice for parents or carers. A good simple step to take is to consider the eye-level of a child and make sure any cleaning products are above this level or stored in a locked cabinet or cupboard. Seeing things at a child’s eye-level gives a clear appreciation of safety issues that may not have been previously considered, supporting safer homes from top to bottom.”
This latest launch follows the scheme’s success in over 20 areas of the UK, including Birmingham, Liverpool, King’s Lynn, Nottingham, Newcastle, Bradford, Lincolnshire, Warwickshire and Northern Ireland, where 400,000 families have been helped to prevent poisoning and eye injuries.
About UKCPI
UKCPI is the leading trade association representing UK producers of cleaning and hygiene products from household soaps, washing powders, liquids, disinfectants, air care and polishes to the professional cleaning and hygiene products used in industrial and institutional applications.
It provides advice and guidance to manufacturers, distributors and users of cleaning and hygiene products. UKCPI also works in partnership with policymakers, the public and the media, to inform public discussions about cleanliness, hygiene and sustainable cleaning.
