Over 1,200 NZ businesses sign up to reduce home injuries

More than 1,200 businesses and organisations around the country are acknowledging the impact of non-work injuries this week (30 August to 5 September), by taking part in Safety NZ Week, ACC’s annual awareness campaign aimed at preventing injuries at home.

A total of 1,256 businesses and other organisations covering over 2,500 sites around the country, are voicing their support by encouraging staff and customers to make ‘one simple change’ to avoid being injured in their own homes.

ACC General Manager of Injury Prevention Keith McLea says home injuries have a significant impact on workplaces.

“These injuries can result in long absences from work, creating huge costs for businesses in terms of lost productivity and profitability. In fact, our estimates show that in some cases, non-work injuries make up more than 90 per cent of lost work hours caused by injury,” says Mr McLea.

“Workplaces are required by law to educate staff about preventing workplace injuries, but it’s great to see businesses acknowledging the impact of non-work injuries, and doing something about it.”

Mr McLea says the response from businesses to Safety NZ Week is in line with increasing interest in ACC’s Safety WorkOut programme, which is designed to help businesses minimise the impact of non-work accidents.

“Safety WorkOut provides businesses with information and resources to help them educate their staff about home safety, as well as other areas like avoiding injuries on the sports field and road safety.

“There are currently 1,256 businesses and other organisations involved in Safety NZ Week, and numbers are increasing every day,” he says.

Businesses involved in Safety NZ Week this year include PAK’nSAVE and New World stores, which will distribute over a quarter of a million flyers at 68 stores across central New Zealand. Air New Zealand, Carters, Fonterra, Housing New Zealand, the Ministry of Social Development, Mitre 10 and Resene are also supporting the campaign.

Slightly further south, Antarctica New Zealand is also participating Safety NZ Week, by putting up home safety posters at Scott Base.

“We’ve got a real cross-section of New Zealand organisations of all sizes involved in Safety NZ Week this year, from all over the country and as far afield as Antarctica,” says Mr McLea.

“With their help we hope to see thousands of New Zealanders making one simple change at home this week to keep themselves and their families safe.”

Home injury facts and simple changes you can make this week:

· Slips, trips and falls make up 41% of all home accidents.

ONE SIMPLE CHANGE: Wear non-slip shoes inside.

· More than 17,000 accidents occur in bathrooms each year.

ONE SIMPLE CHANGE: Use non-slip mats in the bath and shower.

· 133 kids injure themselves running through glass or falling out of a window every single week.

ONE SIMPLE CHANGE: Make sure that you can see glass doors – add stickers or a frosted panel to make them more visible.

· There are 87 stair-related accidents every day that result in an ACC claim. That’s 610 people per week.

ONE SIMPLE CHANGE: Flick the light switch on when you use the stairs.

· Last year 5,400 people were injured while using a ladder at home – that’s 15 every day.

ONE SIMPLE CHANGE: Don’t over reach sideways.

· 40% of homes have dangerously hot water.

ONE SIMPLE CHANGE: Ensure your hot water is 55 degrees at the tap.

For more simple changes you can make this week visit www.homesafety.co.nz