100 word essay about sudden increase of accidents ,critical and minor injuries because of the accidents
Answers
Accidents are a major cause of death and disability. About 14,000 people die in the UK, most of them in England and more than 700,000 will be seriously injured in England alone[1]. They cost the UK an estimated £150 billion every year. For children and young people, accidents are the greatest threat to life.
Three published guidance documents from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) outline recommendations for all those with a strategic role to play in injury prevention, including clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), local authorities and their partners[2, 3, 4].
There is currently no requirement for primary healthcare teams to undergo training in unintentional injury prevention.
Concepts in accident prevention
Primary prevention: removal of circumstances causing injury - eg, traffic speed reduction, fitting stair gates for young children, reducing alcohol consumption.
Secondary prevention: reduces severity of injury should an accident occur - eg, use child safety car seats, bicycle helmets, smoke alarms.
Tertiary prevention: optimal treatment and rehabilitation following injuries - eg, effective first aid, appropriate hospital care.
Role of clinicians in accident prevention
Clinical roles for health professionals in accident prevention
These include:
Advice to patients: health workers are well placed to identify accident risks or medical conditions conferring risk and to advise accordingly - for example:
Child accident prevention:
Identify hazards (on home visits or if treatment sought for accidental injury).
Advise about prevention - eg, stair gates, keeping chemicals out of reach, etc .
Patients with medical conditions :
Identify and treat accident-causing conditions - eg, obstructive sleep apnoea, visual or balance disorders.
Give appropriate advice on fitness to drive.
Advise patients on how to minimise accident risks from their medical condition.
Identify unacceptable risks and intervene where appropriate - for example:
Identify vulnerable children and adults with recurrent injuries or at high risk. This includes those who are experiencing neglect and may require child protection procedures .
Consider reporting to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) patients who fail to comply with medical driving regulations, if they are a serious risk to the public.
Accident surveillance: health professionals and their organisations can monitor injury rates and report preventable accidents. NICE recommends establishing local protocols to alert health visitors, school nurses and GPs when a child or young person repeatedly needs treatment for unintentional injuries at an emergency department or minor injuries unit[2]. On a national basis, NICE recommends ensuring that all hospital trusts are made aware of the data collection requirements for the universal and mandatory A&E (minimum) commissioning dataset.
Non-clinical interventions
These include :
Advocacy and policy making.
Collaboration with other agencies.
Promoting accident prevention education and training.
Research.
How effective are interventions by health professionals?
Research into child safety practices suggests that safety advice for families can be effective. Reviews have found that:
Home safety education (usually given in a face-to-face setting), particularly with the provision of safety equipment, is effective in increasing safety practices[5].
Parenting interventions (usually home-based) may be effective in preventing childhood injury[6].
Accident prevention advice
This section is intended to outline the major causes of accidents in the UK and to give health professionals some knowledge of how these can be prevented. Advice tips can be found under headings 'Safety advice for carers of young children', 'Home accident prevention' and 'Road accident prevention advice', below.
Specific medical conditions