Give dad gift of safety

PROPERTY NEWS

Australian sons and daughters have been urged to use Father's Day this Sunday (5 September) to do a safety audit of the home for elderly parents, especially those living alone.

Archicentre, the building advisory service of the Australian Institute of Architects, said home safety was one of the most important gifts sons and daughters could give their fathers.
Ian Agnew, Queensland state manager of Archicentre, said elderly people often do not recognise dangers in the home which can lead to serious injuries or fatal incidents.
Fall injuries are the leading cause of injury-related death and are a leading cause of injury-related hospitalisation in those aged 65 years and older.
Many of these injuries are severe: fewer than half of older people hospitalised for a fracture or other serious injury following a fall are able to return home. The remainder require long term care, that requires substantial resources by aged care facilities.
Population (epidemiological) studies show that hip fractures are the most serious fall-related injury in older people with 15 per cent dying in hospital and a third not surviving beyond one year afterwards. (Source: Public Health Association of Australia)
Mr Agnew said environmental risk factors contributing to falls in the home are slippery surfaces and uneven floors, poor lighting, poorly designed steps and stairs and lack of grab rails, and also hard surfaces causing injury on landing. But protruding door thresholds, loose rugs and carpet runners can also be hazardous, as well as tangled power and telephone cords.
Behavioural factors such as undertaking cleaning, DIY projects and gardening tasks on ladders, stepladders, chairs and tables and wearing unsuitable footwear increase the risk of falls in older men and women. (Source: Monash University Accident Research Centre).
Mr Agnew added a number of serious injuries can be sustained by younger fathers from doing home maintenance including the dangers of slipping off a roof, or over-balancing and falling from ladders whilst clearing leaves from guttering and the possible dangers of becoming electrocuted by not using electrical tools safely.
House fires can cause serious injury or death.
Fires can also destroy a family's most cherished possessions and home. In Australia each year, some 70 people die as a result of fire, and probably more than 1000 people suffer from serious burns in house fires. (Source: Australian Competition and Consumer Commission).

Archicentre has a number of top areas listed for home safety and they include:
• Install new batteries in the smoke detector and test the alarm is working efficiently.
• Ensure all deadlocks have keys in them on the inside of the door.
• Check for slippery or unsafe steps or decks which may need repair or the removal of slippery moss or slime.
• Look for leaking taps or damaged downpipes that could make paths slippery and hazardous.
• Loose electrical extension leads across the floor creating a trip hazard
• Loose rugs which may cause slip and trips, especially at the tops of stairs.
• The storage of stacks of old newspapers creating a fire hazard in the home.
Mr Agnew said many of these hazards could be quickly observed and removed.