Many readers will have small children or know someone who does; we all know that we need to ensure the safety and welfare of children in our care. Whilst we are usually aware of car safety seats, door stops, childproof locks and such like – many people forget about the dangers of the cords on blinds. Since 2005 there are, on average, 3 children a year in Ireland who are killed due to accidents with blind cords. Similar tragedies have been reported elsewhere in Europe and across the rest of the world. The human suffering and tragedy of these incidents is beyond words. Dr Michael McBride, the Chief Medical Officer for Northern Ireland, said: “The death of young children as a result of entanglement in looped blind cords is a particularly distressing type of accident” “It is essential that parents and carers are aware of the dangers presented by window blind cords and I would urge all those who have young children living in, or visiting their homes, to take steps to make their blind cords safe” Most deaths have been to children between 16 and 36 months old. The majority have happened in children’s’ bedrooms, especially where cots or beds have been close to the windows. Experience has also shown that children playing near windows or climbing on furniture are at risk. The strong thin nylon or beaded cords on a range of window blinds pose a strangulation hazard to children as loops can be formed and children become entangled. Recognising this hazard a European Standard for internal window blinds has recently been revised to impose requirements to eliminate this risk from new blinds fitted where children are likely to be present. Two Irish standards were introduced in September 2012. IS386 represents a first for Europe and provides advice and guidance for the industry with particular emphasis on safety in areas such as procurement, sales and measuring, manufacturing, installation and after sales. IS387 is essentially a ’stop-gap measure’. It includes the requirements for blinds, such as roman blinds, which are not included in the current version of the European Standard, EN13120. Any business that manufactures, supplies or installs blinds must ensure that the product is inherently safe; it complies with all standards and regulations and is installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s instruction by a competent person. Any businesses that provides childcare, education, leisure and other activities where children are likely to be present should also be aware of the new requirements. They will need to make sure that any new blinds are fitted in accordance with the standard and should ensure that they maintain a ‘safe place of work’ at all times. This will involve a thorough risk assessment of the workplace and continual workplace monitoring. It may be that some blinds need to have safety devices fitted retrospectively. The revised standard applies new rules to internal blinds installed in premises where children under 42 months are likely to have access or to be present. The requirement where it applies is that all hazardous cords, chains and loops must be removed or made safe. The bottom loop of the chain or cord must be at least 150cms from the floor and secured with a safety device, a cord tensioner. Without the safety device the product is not compliant and should not be fitted. However, if the operating chain or cord has a breakaway device then the bottom loop of the cord or chain can be 60cms from the floor and a tensioner is not needed. To comply with these requirements many manufacturers now offer window coverings operated by a rod, crank or electric motor. A large number also supply tensioning devices that can be fitted to existing systems. Many supply breakaway devices that can be retro-fitted to existing blinds to make them ‘child safe’. Complete elimination of the strangulation risk can only be achieved by keeping cords, chains, and tapes and similar out of the reach of children and vulnerable persons. Use of additional safety devices may reduce the risk of strangulation but cannot be considered fool proof. Persons in charge of children are ultimately responsible for following the safety instructions provided by the manufacturer. So what can practically be done? As a business you are obliged to carry out the risk assessment activity and ensure effective controls are in place, whilst there is no legal obligation to do this at home, you may well want to do an informal assessment of the hazards and ensure you are making the home as safe as can be.
- Ensure you carry out a Risk Assessment on your premises and the activities therein, so that you may identify the hazards and ensure controls are in place – this extends to all equipment, activities, fixtures and fittings.
- Ensure that you carry out regular inspections of the workplace to assist you to identify damaged or dangerous items.
- Review your procedures following a specified period of time, changes in work practices or any incidents.
- Examine every blind; if they have a looped chain or cord and do not have a safety device fitted then you can easily install one of the many devices available.
- Ensure that all blind cords and chains cannot be reached by children or vulnerable persons.
- When buying a new blind, always look for one that does not contain cords, has concealed cords or has an in-built safety device and that complies with the new European Standards.
- Move cots, beds and any furniture away from windows and blinds
For more information, and to download a free blind cord safety leaflet, visit www.rospa.com/blindcords and information is also available on http://www.windowblindsafety.ie/ You are legally compelled to have written risk assessments for your business operations and failure to do so may lead to a prosecution by the Health & Safety Authority or lead to issues with your insurance company and their likelihood to support a claim on your employer’s liability or public liability insurance. You need to ensure your Safety Management Systems are up to speed in order that you have some means to prevent injuries, mitigate claims and present a defence. Call us at Peninsula Business Services (Ireland) Ltd for more details on 0818 923 923. Brendan Hanratty is a Chartered Health & Safety Practitioner working with Peninsula Business Services (Ireland) Ltd; who are Ireland’s leading provider of employment law and health & safety services. Established in Ireland since 1997, we have thousands of businesses who have already integrated Peninsula to work as part of their HR and Health & Safety departments. With offices in Dublin, Belfast, Sydney and Manchester, Peninsula employs 1000 people across Ireland, Australia and the UK. - See more at: https://www.peninsulagrouplimited.com/ie/
