A rise in childhood deaths from preventable injury has prompted Kidsafe Victoria to issue a reminder for increased vigilance.
New figure from Kidsafe show that childhood deaths from preventable injuries rose 75% in 2020-21 compared to the three previous years.
“Between 2017-2019, an average of 17 children died each year in Victoria from preventable injuries,” Kidsafe Victoria chief executive Melanie Courtney said.
“In 2020, that number jumped to 29 and increased again in 2021 to 31 deaths.
“We also saw increases in serious preventable injuries such as childhood burns and scalds during that period, including a 30 per cent rise in severe injury admissions in 2020.”
Kidsafe Victoria president Erica Edmands, said: “These preventable incidents place tremendous pressure on our health system. Recent figures estimate the cost of hospital admissions for unintentional injury for children under 14 had grown from $46 million in 2016/17 to $65 million in 2019/20.”
“Those figures do not include the high flow-on costs across the rest of the health system or lost revenue.”
