Posted by Charlotte Salter, on January 17, 2024.
Families in Coventry are being urged to take action to use and store household cleaning products safely by UKCPI and the Royal Society for the Prevention Accidents (RoSPA).
The latest phase of the Take Action Today, Put Them Away home safety campaign, funded by the UK Cleaning Products Industry Association (UKCPI), is being launched on Wednesday 17th January 2024 at 1pm.
This follows the scheme’s success in 41 areas of the UK including Birmingham, Liverpool, King’s Lynn, Nottingham, Newcastle, Bradford, Lincolnshire, and Northern Ireland – where over 700,000 families have been helped to prevent poisoning and eye injuries.
In Coventry, accidental poisonings accounted for 125 emergency admissions for 0 – 4-year-olds between 2018/19- 2020/21.
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.
Jim Oram, RoSPA’s public health project officer, 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, from the industry’s trade body, the 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 are 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.”
The magnetic notepad will help us reinforce the messages we share and act as a visual reminder to prompt appropriate storage of these products.”
Nicky Dowd, Clinical Lead for Health Visiting and Chair of the Preventable Accidents in Children Working Group said: “In Coventry we are dedicated and proactive in promoting safety within the home and understand the importance of educating the community. The roll out of this initiative will encourage staff to have those conversations with families about the dangers chemicals and detergents found in the home can have if ingested and the importance of storing medicines and cleaning products safely. The magnetic notepad will help us reinforce the messages we share and act as a visual reminder to prompt appropriate storage of these products.”
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.
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.
Further information on the Take Action Today campaign can be found at: https://www.ukcpi.org/take-action-today/
For more details about UKCPI, visit www.ukcpi.org
