Child Accident Prevention Trust (capt) is a national charity committed to reducing the number of children and young people who are killed, disabled or seriously injured as a result of accidents.
Accidental injury is one of the leading causes of death among children and young people and puts more children in hospital than any other cause. Every year in the UK, around two million children are taken to hospital accident and emergency departments as a result of accidents. Thankfully, fewer children are being killed each year. In the UK in 2006, 299 children aged under 15 died as the result of unintentional injury or poisoning (ICD-10 codes V01-X59). (England and Wales – 246; Scotland – 26; Northern Ireland – 27).
The good news is that the number of accidental deaths has been declining steadily. In England and Wales in 1979, almost 1,100 children were killed in accidents, compared with 213 in 2005, the lowest year on record.
The burden of accidental injury is disproportionately heavy on the most disadvantaged. Children from the poorest families are more likely to die from accidents, to be admitted to hospital, and to be admitted with more severe injuries. capt aims to reduce accidental death and injury in children and young people.
As a consequence of accidental injury, some children and young people are disfigured for life or permanently disabled. Some develop behavioural and psychological problems following the trauma of accidental injury. Some parents carry a lifelong burden of guilt.
On top of these human costs, there are the financial burdens of childhood accidental injury - both treatment and after-care - on already over-stretched health and social services. For example, it can cost as much as £250,000 to treat one severe bath water scald.
Concerned about the number of children they treated as a result of accidents, two paediatricians, Dr Hugh Jackson and Professor Donald Court, formed a committee in the late 1970s to focus on child accident prevention. In 1981 it gained charitable status and became the Child Accident Prevention Trust.
The Trust understands that experimenting and risk-taking are part of growing up. It works to secure lower injury rates without compromising children's health or quality of life.
Accident prevention is often seen as common sense. Yet few parents know that a sparkler burns 10 times hotter than a kettle of boiling water or that a mug of tea will scald a baby 15 minutes after it has been made.
Accident prevention can also be costly. Many poorer parents lack the money to buy important safety equipment for their home or car.
In addition, many practitioners who work with parents and children lack knowledge on the main causes of children's accidents or how best to prevent them. They also lack the resources or training needed to put effective safety measures in place. Some decision-makers are unaware of the high costs of childhood accidental injury and do not prioritise its prevention in planning and resource allocation.
Child Accident Prevention Trust aims to reduce serious accidental injuries, especially those with long-term consequences by
The Trust works to achieve these aims through
Child Accident Prevention Trust is funded through
Capt is a registered charity number 1053549 and a company limited by guarantee number 3147845. Registered in England and Wales. Registered office address: 22-26 Farringdon Lane, London EC1R 3AJ. VAT registration no. 740387826.