Auckland child injury stats revealed

More than 14,800 children in the Auckland region were admitted to hospital due to preventable injuries over the past five years.

Auckland Council, working with Safekids Aotearoa has provided unintentional and intentional child injury statistics for each local board area in Auckland.

Unintentional injuries are incidents such as motor vehicle crashes, falls and drowning as opposed to assaults or self-harm.

Community Development and Safety Committee Chair Cr Cathy Casey says the figures are alarming, showing 19 child deaths from unintentional injuries each year.

“Obviously we want to lower this figure. One of our priorities is to decrease child hospitalisation by 20% by 2025. Auckland Council currently works with stakeholders across the injury prevention sector that deliver a number of activities including water safety programmes, child restraint promotion, cycle safety and driveway safety.

“Council is also working with key community organisations to develop a regional injury prevention plan.”

Safekids Aotearoa Director Ann Weaver says she hopes Aucklanders will use this online information to help them understand areas in which we can all improve our own personal safety.

“As adults we need to do our part to ensure children enjoy a life free from the adverse effects of unintentional injury and that they grow to their full potential,” she says.

The data, designed for quick and easy understanding of current local trends will be shared with all local boards to support child injury prevention action across the Auckland region.

Ends

© Scoop Media