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Stepping Up For Ladder Safety

13 September 2016

Older Victorian men are being urged to put their safety first when using ladders as part of a new education awareness campaign launched today.

The Ladder Safety Matters campaign, part of a national approach to reduce serious injury and deaths from ladder falls, tells the story of three Victorian men who fell from a ladder while doing home maintenance.

The videos chronicle their fall, recovery and life after their ladder injury. Almost every ladder injury was preventable and is why older men are being urged to consider the consequences of a ladder fall.

Ladders are associated with more deaths and injuries than any other household product, with men aged 60 years and older most likely to suffer serious injuries from a ladder fall.

In Victoria alone, there is an average of 1330 emergency department presentations as a result of a domestic ladder fall, and approximately seven men die as a result of falling from a ladder at home each year.

One of the videos tells the story of Victorian retiree, Mick, aged in his sixties, who fell from a DIY structure he had set up to trim a hedge in January last year.

Mick fell more than two metres to the ground, hitting his head on a brick windowsill on the way down.

He broke four ribs, his C6 vertebrae and fractured five other vertebrate and was forced to spend more than two months bedridden and confined in a neck brace.

Mick’s fall could have been prevented, and should serve as a warning to older Victorian men to think twice before going up on a ladder.

Visit the Better Health Channel to watch Mick’s story and find safety tips to help prevent ladder falls in the home at www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/laddersafetyExternal Link

Quotes attributable to Minister for Health Jill Hennessy

“My message to Victorian men – particularly those in their sixties and beyond – is clear. Think twice before going up on a ladder.”

“It may seem like a small risk to take but the consequences can be deadly. It’s just not worth it. Put yourself and your family first – when using a ladder, make safety matter.”

Quotes attributable to Head of the Trauma Intensive Care Unit at The Alfred Hospital Dr Owen Roodenburg

“Often it’s a split-second decision, something the man knows is a risky shortcut, that lands them in hospital.”

“One third of ladder fall patients admitted to our hospital need intensive care. Shockingly, a quarter of these intensive care patients die, and of those who do survive, over half are not well enough to live at home after 12 months.”

“The figures show just how serious a fall from a ladder can be and should be a sobering reminder for older Aussie men to stop and think before doing something risky on a ladder.”

Reviewed 19 August 2020

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