Injury prevention in children

The scale of childhood injuries in the UK is monumental, accounting for approximately 120,000 hospital admissions and 350 childhood deaths. Financial costs to an already overstretched National Health Service, and societal costs to victims and their families make it an area of priority for prevention. This has been recognised, with government targets set in the ‘Saving lives: our healthier nation’ white paper. The Departments of Heath, Transport, Trade and Industry, and Education and for Skills have responded with strategies to reach these targets by an integrated approach. The British Medical Association works closely with the government, and The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has established a committee for injury prevention. Local hospitals and paediatricians support medical professionals with training for injury management and they are also involved in educating the public about injury prevention, e.g., in conjunction with local groups such as the Injury Minimization Programme for Schools. Various voluntary bodies work towards coordinating roles in injury prevention by providing information and directed interventional support to medical professionals, teachers, parents, carers, and children. These programmes are working, for example, there was a reduction in road-related childhood injuries and deaths in the UK over 5 years preceding 2003. Everyone has a role to ensure injury prevention is effective.