RESEARCH REPORT PROVIDES NEW INSIGHT INTO ILLNESS AND NON FATAL ACCIDENTS ON CHILDREN'S CONTACT WITH FARMS

HSE press release: E082:03 - 20 May 2003

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is today publishing a two part Contract Research Report by the Institute for Rural Health (IRH) entitled "Farm Child UK."

While child fatalities in the agricultural sector are thoroughly investigated by the HSE, information on non-fatal injuries and illness to children linked to agricultural activities has been unclear and incomplete for many years, due to under-reporting using the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995.

The project was designed to fill this information gap and was based on a network of 35 participating rural GP practices in England and Wales supplying information in respect of children presenting at the surgery or seeking a GP home visit for treatment.

The project coincided with the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease in the UK in the spring of 2001 and partly as a result, only 10 cases of child injury or illness were reported by the GPs during the data collection phase. This was approximately 10% of the expected return.

The cases are summarised in Part 1, which examines the nature and incidence of accidents and zoonoses to children under 16 years of age as a result of living or working on farm or visiting the countryside for education or leisure purposes between March 2001 and June 2002. Part 2 is comprehensive review of the international literature on farm accidents and zoonoses to children - an extension to the original project.

Although the data collection phase of project was extended to capture as large a sample as possible; for reasons discussed in the report this did not in fact result in a significantly larger sample. Additionally, the opportunity was taken to use the expertise of the IRH to conduct a review of the published literature to provide a better understanding of the issue of child safety internationally and to see if there are any lessons from other countries' experience which could be applied to farming in the UK.

Although seriously and adversely affected by the Foot and Mouth outbreak, the project provided valuable insight into the structural changes which have taken place in recent years in agriculture and rural communities in England and Wales. For example it explains the practical and largely intractable difficulties in better defining the extent of non-fatal child injury and illness on farm and also provides insight into the farming community's approach to government and its relationship with primary healthcare and rehabilitation services in rural areas.

The information will help HSE in developing programmes of work to tackle the issues of child safety in agriculture and the provision of occupational health support in rural communities as part of its Revitalising Health and Safety initiative.

Copies of 'Farm Child UK' Parts 1 and 2 (ISBN: 07176 2209 6) price £30, are available from HSE Books. The report will also be on HSE's website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk

Notes to editors

1. The Government and the Health and Safety Commission's Revitalising Health and Safety initiative, was launched by the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott and the Health and Safety Commission chair, Bill Callaghan on 7 June 2000. This seeks to improve health and safety issues by working with partners and identifying key areas which need more work.

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