The Fingershield Child Safety Blog

Child Safety Week 23rd - 29th June 2008

2008-06-25T13:45:00.002+01:00

This week is Child Safety Week and the Child Accident Prevention Trust has launched a new campaign with the theme ‘Make a change. Make a difference.’

They are encouraging parents to think about all the little changes they could make in their lives and homes to make a big difference in protecting the safety of their children. They are enforcing the campaign with some very powerful and shocking statistics, due to an alarming number of parents being aware of the dangers to their children, but not putting general knowledge of safety precautions into practice to protect them.

The frightening truth is that 2,000 children are admitted to hospital due to accidents every week in the UK, some resulting in permanent damage. This is one of the reasons the Child Accident Prevention Trust will spend £18 million over the next three years to provide home safety equipment to families from poorer backgrounds, and those they feel need help most. The campaign will include a range of new television and radio adverts stressing the importance of safety in the home, which Fingershield will be taking part in. They will also give information on spotting potential hazards in homes with small children and how to access good home safety schemes in their area.

The startling truth is that a closing door can exert up to 40 tons per square inch of pressure between the hinges, which may explain why 40,000 children under 15 visit hospital with damage to fingers. 1,500 of those need reconstructive surgery or even amputation. Due to these figures it is no wonder protecting fingers has become such a vital part of everyday safety in schools, nurseries and in the home. We at Fingershield are dedicated to looking after your little one’s fingers, and with a great range of simple safety solutions we can offer help with many other safety issues when it comes to protecting your children – check out our great range of innovative ideas!

Keep your little ones safe and sound in and around your home. Stop to think of things from your young child’s perspective and cover all angles of safety. There are plenty of people on hand to help if you feel bombarded by the idea of covering all aspects, rooms and potential hazards. Remember these things can happen to anyone – so why not invest a little time to ensure they don’t happen to you.

People all have their own fears and priorities when it comes to protecting their children. What do you feel is the most important safety element within your home?

To find out more information and advice you can visit:
www.capt.org.uk – Child Accident Prevention Trust.
www.direct.gov.uk/childsafety - Government advice and information for Child Safety Week.

Other great links include:
www.dh.gov.uk – The Department of Health.
www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk - The Department for Transport.

Statistics from www.hassandlass.org.uk and The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents

Schools of the future to keep their fingers!

2008-04-21T09:10:00.004+01:00

The Department for Children, Schools and Families has just released a publication to schools specifying that all doors in the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme should be fitted with anti-finger trapping devices to prevent any future finger trapping accidents from occurring.*

The Government’s publication, Standard Specifications, Layouts and Dimensions (SSLD) – Internal doorsets in schools: produced to guide the BSF programme specifies that there is a risk of fingers becoming trapped in doors in educational buildings. The publication states that this risk should be eradicated by the fitting of finger guards to all doors where feasible.

According to RoSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) 40,000 children a year seriously crush their fingers in doors; 1,500 of these children will require some form of reconstructive surgery. Each case of a finger trapping accident costs the NHS an estimated £2,500 per patient! Schools are also at risk with the rise of the claims culture in Britain, where compensation claims are averaging at around £12,000 per finger trap case. **

Recently in Buckinghamshire, the Buckinghamshire Local Education Authority (LEA) have issued a warning to all school supervisors via the school bulletin stating that there have been 2 serious cases of finger trapping accidents involving pupils in the last 12 months, and schools are advised to invest in anti-finger trapping devices to prevent any further claims for being made to the LEA.

Offering its award winning anti-finger-trapping devices, Fingershield Safety (UK) – founded in 1999 by entrepreneur Frank Garvey – offers a free door risk assessment survey for any educational establishment, conducted by our highly trained and CRB checked door safety surveyors. Fingershield is also happy to provide a free 10 year warranty on all of its Fingershield door safety products. It is already in 6,000 schools nationwide.

Company spokesman Chris Higgins said: ‘With such a large proportion of children suffering the pain and distress of finger trapping, I am please that the Department for Children, Schools and Families has seen this risk and specified a solution in their Building Schools for the Future project. This should hopefully mean that there will be less accidents in the future.’

What are YOUR thoughts of the building schools for the future programme, have you had any involvement in it? Please feel free to place a comment on your views.

* Publication: Standard Specifications, Layouts and Dimensions 7, Internal doorsets in schools (2008) ISBN 978-1-84775-088-4
** Source: Morton Michel Insurance

Open the door safely in 2008!

2008-01-04T13:58:00.000Z

Happy New Year to all from Fingershield Safety (UK)!

What has your New Year Resolution been......? Stop Smoking? Lose Weight?

Well here at Fingershield our New Year Resolution is to ensure even more Children are Safe in 2008!

Therefore we are happy to announce that we now have a vast collection of child safety products and educational innovations to offer all!

From CO Detectors to Cre8txt Hand Held Keyboards; Happy Hands Door Stoppers to Anti-ligature Coat Hooks: Fingershield is a 'one-stop shop' for all your child safety needs this New Year!

Have a look at our safety product collection: http://www.simplesafetysolutions.com/

Don't see something you want? Simply let us know by posting a comment on this blog and we will see how we can help you.

Keep the Door Closed On CO This Christmas....

2007-12-17T09:21:00.000Z

Christmas is coming and for many households the gas boiler hasn't been used for a several months.

This is now the time to ensure that the boiler and flue system are safe as every year about 30 people die from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by gas appliances and flues which have not been properly installed or maintained. Many others also suffer ill health. When gas does not burn properly, as with other fuels such as coal, wood or oil, excess CO is produced which is poisonous.

You can't see it, taste it or smell it but CO can kill without warning in just a matter of hours. CO is a colourless, odourless poisonous gas, which is produced by incomplete burning of carbon based fuels, including fuel gas. When CO gets into the body, it prevents the blood from bringing oxygen to cells, tissues and organs.

RoSPA strongly advises that gas appliances and/or flues are serviced regularly for safety by a CORGI-registered installer. If you live in a tenanted accommodation, your landlord has a legal duty to carry out an annual gas safety check and maintain gas appliances. They must provide you with a copy of the completed gas safety check certificate.

You should always make sure there is enough fresh air in the room containing your gas appliance. If you have a chimney or a flue, ensure it is not blocked up and also ensure that vents are not covered.

RoSPA strongly recommends the use of carbon monoxide detectors as a useful backup precaution but they must not be regarded as a substitute for proper installation and maintenance of gas appliances by a CORGI-registered installer.

For quality CO Detectors, please go to: http://www.simplesafetysolutions.com/acatalog/CO_Dectors.html

Have a Safe and Merry Christmas!

CO - What CAN happen!

2007-12-04T11:36:00.000Z

Here are a few recent stories about what can happen when your on the wrong side of the silent killer......

A mother of 2 discovered by chance that she was suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. She had been to her GP complaining of nausea and dizziness, but was told she must be pregnant. During a college class, she volunteered to take a breath test to demonstrate a non-smoker's carbon monoxide levels.
However, the machine showed her level to be six times higher than it should be. A blood test confirmed the diagnosis and she was told to take her family to hospital for tests. Her husband and two children were also being poisoned and an investigation found that their boiler was unsafe.

A brother and sister were poisoned by carbon monoxide 22 years ago. There was an illegally fitted water heater seeping carbon monoxide into their apartment. The brother died and his sister was left confined to a wheelchair permanently paralysed once regaining consciousness from a five month coma.

An elderly couple died from carbon monoxide poisoning when they left the door open on their enclosed coal fire. This meant that the lethal fumes escaped into the room and overcame the elderly couple.

Do YOU have Carbon Monoxide in Hand..?

2007-11-20T14:56:00.000Z

Fingershield Safety (UK) – Closing the door on the Silent Killer.

We here at Fingershield Safety UK would like to announce the launch of our very own Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detector to effectivley help close the door on the silent but deadly killer that claims numerous lives every year here in the UK.

According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), 16 people died from CO poisoning during the 2005/6 period, which is mainly caused by gas appliances and flues that have not been properly installed, maintained or that are poorly ventilated. Levels that do not kill can cause serious harm to health if breathed in over a long period. HSE strongly recommends the use of carbon monoxide detectors as a useful back-up precaution. It should also be noted that 123 incidents of CO poisoning was reported to the HSE during the period of 2006/7*

A recent storyline in Channel 4’s Hollyoaks showed the immense danger that Carbon Monoxide poses to all when a fan of the soap was unknowingly hit by the deadly gas. The hit show aired a plot in which students suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning, helping the fan to realise that she was being slowly poisoned by the deadly gas. Because of this she went to hospital where they confirmed that she had been inhaling the deadly CO gas fumes and was hours away from death!

The price for our CO Detectors (excluding VAT at 17.5%):

Fingershield CO Detector - £2.25

Fingershield CO Detector Twin Pack - £3.95

FREE DELIVERY for these items online at http://www.simplesafetysolutions.com/acatalog/CO_Dectors.html

For more information on our Fingershield CO Detector or other child safety products, please call: 0800 980 9444 or email: info@fingershield.co.uk. Alternatively, visit the Fingershield website at www.fingershield.co.uk.

So What Safety Products Do You Need?

2007-08-24T11:22:00.000+01:00

Welcome to the first post on the Fingershield Child Safety Blog!

With the launch of our Simple Safety Solutions child safety web shop, for our first blog, we would like to know if there are any safety products that you need but perhaps can never find to buy.

So if you've got some ideas, post them on our blog! To post a comment, simply click on the 'comments' link below.

We look forward to hearing from you, and as the Fingershield Child Safety Blog grows, we hope you come with us on this journey and that you benefit from the ideas and comments posted.

Subscribe to the Fingershield Child Safety Blog by clicking on the link at the top of the side menu.

The Fingershield Team