Household cleaning products safety campaign launched in Hartlepool

Published Thursday, 20th May 2021

Families in Hartlepool are being urged by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) to take action to protect their children from the risks of household cleaning products

The latest phase of the Take Action Today, Put Them Away campaign, funded by Fairy, has been launched in the town. 

This follows the scheme’s success in 53 areas of the UK, including Birmingham, Liverpool, King’s Lynn, Nottingham, Newcastle, Bradford, Lincolnshire, Warwickshire and Northern Ireland where 400,000 families have been helped to prevent poisoning and eye injuries.

In Hartlepool, accidental poisonings accounted for 30 emergency admissions for 0-4-year-olds from 2016/17-2018/19.

As part of the campaign, a handy magnetic notepad featuring key safety advice will be handed out to thousands of families by health visitors and children’s centre staff.

Ashley Martin, RoSPA’s Public Health Adviser, said: “The notepad acts as a constant reminder in family kitchens to store cleaning products out of reach, out of sight and in a locked cupboard.

“Due to their inquisitive nature, children under the age of five are most at risk of accidentally swallowing or getting household cleaning products, like liquid laundry capsules, into their eyes. Even products with a child-resistant closure cannot guarantee safety - they only reduce the risk by delaying access to the product.”

Nikki Clark, Hartlepool Borough Council's Head of Service (Early Help- Clinical Lead), said: "Hartlepool health visitors work closely with our local A&E department and can see first-hand the pain and worry that a child ingesting household products or medication can cause children and parents. We want to keep children safe at home at all times, and especially during the Covid 19 bandemic we want to keep children from unnecessarily attending A&E departments. The programme supports the work that Hartlepool early help health visitors and local partners already do in supporting families with family-friendly materials free of charge, so we can continue to raise the important issue of child safety and reduce the risk of accidental poisoning."

Take action today, put them away advice to parents includes:

•          Store household cleaning products out of reach of children, preferably in a locked cupboard

•          Always store chemicals in their original containers

•          Never pierce or break laundry capsules or tablets

•          Always close the lid of any product

•          In the event of an incident, follow advice on the product pack and seek medical attention.

Further information on the Take Action Today campaign can be found at www.rospa.com