Date: 23/Jun/2008

Kidsafe WA with the support of the Department of Health is conducting a Seasonal Childhood Injury Prevention Program to highlight the different injury risks to children throughout the year.

The program intends to raise awareness of parents, guardians, child care workers and health workers on childhood injury risks and to provide them with simple steps to keep kids safe.

The Seasonal Childhood Injury Prevention Program is a targeted campaign that focuses on different seasonal injury issues across the four quarters of each year.

Each season a multilevel campaign is run that focuses around the corresponding injury issue. Mail-outs of both the new and existing resources are sent to groups such as child health nurses, playgroups and childcare centres, libraries, community and recreational centres.

Kidsafe WA also provides educational workshops and seminars to groups on the seasonal injury topics. These intend to raise awareness of child safety and provide attendants with the knowledge and skills to prevent child injury. Kidsafe WA has a particular interest in providing these seminars and workshops to CALD and Indigenous groups.

The winter campaign Get warm - not burnt  focuses on burn and scald prevention.

Approximately 400 children present to Princess Margaret Hospital's emergency department each year with a burn or scald injury, with one third requiring admission. Nearly half of all hospitalisations of more than seven days are the result of a burn or scald. The scars left behind can last a lifetime.

For further information on the Seasonal Childhood Injury Prevention Campaign visit www.kidsafewa.com.au, or to find out about running a seminar at your playgroup, phone Melita on 9340 8517 or email.