Accidents just a splash away for children

ACCORDING the Health Service Executive, the single biggest cause of death for children over one, is not disease but accidental death, and a change of routine is cited as a key cause for accidents to occur.

Summer play adds a new dimension to the challenge of keeping children safe while at home and on holiday.

Dr Chris Luke, head of Accident and Emergency at Mercy University Hospital, Cork, sees a rise in paediatric care every summer. “Adults are hot, even drowsy from the odd drink in the garden, and that’s when something new can cause an accident — the trampoline, the paddling pool, the BBQ,” he says.