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Christmas Injury Spike: First Aid Training Urged for Safer Festive Season

National First Aid Courses

Key Facts:

• Christmas period sees increased injury risks both at home and work, with December showing higher incident rates
• Common festive season injuries include ladder falls (5000 hospitalisations annually), electrical injuries, food poisoning, and alcohol-related accidents
• Water-related incidents increase during summer holidays, affecting both children and adults
• Workplace injuries rise in the pre-Christmas period due to increased pressure to complete tasks
• First aid skills are crucial during this period and can be acquired through one-day courses

Will you give the ultimate gift this Christmas? If someone you loved was seriously injured, would you have the first aid skills that might just save a life?

Despite being known as the festive season, Christmas comes with an increased risk of injury, in both the workplace and at home, and your first aid skills might just be the difference between life and death.

Each year, statistics reveal December delivers an uptick in injuries due to incidents ranging from slips, trips and falls to serious motor vehicle accidents, drownings, and food poisoning.

That makes now an ideal time to consider your Christmas safety including updating your first aid skills, according to a leading Australian provider of first aid and CPR training.

National First Aid Courses director Samuel Bohr said the festive season often involved a heady combination of socialising, sporting activities, and travel.

“As a result, statistics consistently show an increase in Christmas-related injuries, ranging from falls while decorating to alcohol related injuries, and cuts and burns while preparing food,” Mr Bohr said.

“As it’s summer, there’s also the increased risk of drowning, not just for children but for adults too, and the road statistics speak for themselves when it comes to the increased risk of motor vehicle accidents over the holidays.”

Data from sources including Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health indicate the top causes of injury over the festive season are:

• Slips, trips and falls, including falls from ladders, with around 5000 Australians admitted to hospital each year as a result of ladder falls with men over the age of 60 most at risk.

• Electrical injuries from Christmas lights including tripping hazards and overloaded power boards that pose a fire risk.

• Food poisoning due to inadequate food handling and storage.

• Alcohol related injuries, including poisoning, vehicle crashes and falls

• Motor vehicle accidents

• Drownings at swimming pools, beaches, and waterholes

• Gift related injuries, including choking hazards and swallowing risks for children

And it’s not just in the home where risk of injury increases over the Christmas period.

Workplaces also report a rise in incidents, especially in the immediate lead-up to Christmas, with staff often under increased pressure to complete tasks prior to the end of year break.

Mr Bohr said regardless of whether an injury happens in the home or workplace, up-to-date first aid skills can be the difference between life or death.

“From CPR to burns treatment, and managing spinal injuries, current first aid skills ensure you are not only equipped to manage minor festive season mishaps but also potentially save a life,” he said.

“There’s no better time than now to learn or refresh those skills, with First Aid courses taking as little as a day to complete.

“In fact, your first aid knowledge could just be the ultimate gift for someone you love this Christmas.”

About us:

National First Aid Courses is a leading provider of nationally recognised face-to-face First Aid training, with courses available in NSW, Victoria and Queensland.

 

Contact details:

Samuel Bohr
Director National First Aid Courses
Email: [email protected]
Ph: 1300 677 191
Website: https://nfac.edu.au/