Latest statistics show 11 toddlers suffer a major burn daily in UK

Today, on National Burns Awareness Day 2017, latest statistics show an alarming number of UK children are experiencing life-changing burn injuries every single day.

The Children’s Burns Trust, together with the Brytyjskie Stowarzyszenie Oparzeń, have released exclusive insight from the International Burn Injury Database to raise awareness of burn prevention and burn-related first aid on National Burn Awareness Day 2017.

The latest figures, released by the two leading organisations in burn prevention and support, show that in 2016 more than 600 children a month required admission to an NHS Burns Service following a burn or scald injury. Shockingly, this figure only relates to the more serious injuries and does not include the thousands who were seen for more minor burns in A&E departments up and down the country.
The Children’s Burns Trust, whose work is focused on children and their families, have highlighted that of the figure admitted to a specialist burns service, over 50% were children under the age of 5. That’s more than 11 toddlers every single day.
Ken Dunn, Consultant Burns and Plastic Surgeon, and chair of the British Burn Association’s Prevention Committee, said: “The vast majority of burn injuries are accidents, and whether suffered by adults, children or the elderly, most are entirely avoidable. If people take away one key message from National Burns Awareness Day 2017, it is that prevention and good first aid are the vital ingredients in reducing the number of burn-related accidents across the UK.”

 Hundreds of NHS Services, Fire and Rescue Services, along with other organisations, come together each year on National Burn Awareness Day to raise awareness of the alarming number of people burned each and every day in the UK – the vast majority of which are preventable. The campaign also helps to promote the vital message of the importance of good first aid if a burn or scald does occur.

All statistics provided by the International Burn Injury Database (iBID: http://www.cbtrust.org.uk/burn-prevention/database/):