GOVERNMENT MOVES TO STOP BATH-TIME SCALDING INJURIES

Each year more than 430 very young children are seriously injured in scalding accidents in hot baths, leaving the toddlers facing years of painful skin grafts and their parents a lifetime of guilt.

“The bath has the highest number of fatal or serious scalding incidents. Safe water temperatures are essential since most accidents occur with the young, elderly or infirm either getting or falling into baths that are initially too hot, or in topping up with hot water.

“Thanks to government, industry and the voluntary sector working together, a new generation of thermostatic mixing valve (TMV2), suitable for domestic use, has been developed. Subject to the views of BRAC (Building Regulations Advisory Committee) and a full public consultation, I now believe it is practical to consider bringing the issue within the scope of building control.”

“These scalds can be life-threatening and the injuries can lead to many years of painful treatment,"

“We are delighted that the Government is taking this step to review building regulations.”

“What a great start to the New Year. This is going to make a big difference to many children’s lives. Parents can minimise the risk of scalding by closely supervising bath-time, so that a child has no opportunity to turn on the hot tap while their parent is distracted. However, the most effective safety measure is the installation of a thermostatic control device to regulate the bath water outlet temperature to reduce the risk of severe scalding.”

“The problem with bath water scalding begins largely with the need to store heated water at temperatures typically above 60 degrees Centrigade to avoid bacteriological contamination – particularly legionella, a naturally occurring organism that has the potential to kill.

“The new valves provide a solution by mixing hot water (stored at a temperature high enough to kill legionella) with cold water to ensure constant and safe outlet temperatures to prevent scalding,”

Notes to Editors
1. STATISTICS
Hot bath water is responsible for the highest number of fatal and severe scald injuries in the home. Every year around 20 people die as a result of scalds caused by hot bath water and a further 570 suffer serious scald injuries.
Young children and older people are most at risk from bath water scalds because their skin is thinner and therefore less tolerant to higher water temperatures than that of other age groups. As a result, they sustain scalds more quickly, at lower water temperatures and often with a greater depth of burn.

• The long-term rehabilitation of children suffering from burns


• The co-ordination of education for children in fire and burn safety prevention.

• Amanda Redman - scald victim, actress and patron of the children's fire and burn trust.

As a small child, pulled a pot of boiling soup over herself and received severe burns over her entire body. Regardless of the scar on her left arm, went on to be a successful actress.


• Liz Lewarne - Cardiff -scald victim

Liz Lewarne, 23 , from Cardiff was severely burned when she fell into the bath as a toddler. She has had to endure a series of operations throughout her life. Her ambition is to be a model. She works for the Children’s Fire and Burns Trust and is committed to trying to help other children avoid similar injuries.


• Janet Shilston - Exeter - grandmother of scald victim Kieran

Kieran, now seven years, fell into a bath of hot water at the age of 18 months sustaining 60% burns to his body.

• raising awareness of dangers of scalding


• promoting awareness of the benefits of TMVs in preventing potential scalding


• creating a forum for leading manufacturers to engender continuous product/application development to improve safety.

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