Hospital data for DIY injuries reveals Melbourne’s most accident prone areas
Hundreds of wannabe renovators have seriously injured themselves doing home improvement projects, with “traumatic amputations” among the worst injuries. We reveal Melbourne’s most accident-prone areas.
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Hundreds of wannabe renovators have seriously injured themselves while doing home improvement projects with some of the worst cases resulting in severed fingers and toes.
Figures Leader News obtained from the Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit show 1991 people turned up at emergency departments nursing DIY-related injuries, between July 2016 and June last year.
More than 1500 Victorians were so badly injured they had to be admitted to hospital.
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Falls from ladders were unsurprisingly the most common causes of serious injury, followed by power tools such as saws, lawnmowers and grinders.
Other injuries were caused by falling from or through roofs, chainsaws, power drills and nail guns.
Almost half of hospital admissions were due to fractures (716), 296 were open wounds, and an unlucky 76 home renovators suffered “traumatic amputations” such as severed fingers or toes.
The most accident-prone residents were found in Casey, with 98 treated for DIY-related injuries, and 81 from Greater Geelong.
Brimbank (76 hospital admissions), Mornington Peninsula (71), Frankston (65) and Yarra Ranges (65) were also hotspots.
And home renovators appear more cautious in places like Wyndham, where 22 were treated.
The Alfred hospital trauma specialist Helen Ackland said ladder accidents could result in life-changing injuries.
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“Most of the patients we see are men aged over 50 years,” Dr Ackland said.
“They often think of climbing a ladder as a benign thing to do and don’t think about the serious consequences such as traumatic brain injury and spinal injury.”
Ambulance Victoria spokesman Chris James said falls from ladders and roofs often happened when people were trying to clean their gutters.
“If you are climbing a ladder or getting on the roof, take extreme care and make sure the ladder is on firm, even ground and wear sturdy shoes,” Mr James said.
“If you are working alone make sure you have access to a mobile phone so you can call for help if something goes wrong.”
If the situation is an emergency phone triple-zero, if not consult your local GP, pharmacist or Nurse-On-Call (1300 60 60 24), he said.
“We encourage people to put their safety first and consider the risks the renovation or home improvement task poses and ask yourself if it’s a job for a professional,” Mr James said.
Top 10 LGAs for DIY-related hospital admissions
July 2016-June 2018
1. Casey — 98 admissions
2. Greater Geelong — 81
3. Brimbank — 76
4. Mornington Peninsula — 71
5. Frankston — 65
6. Yarra Ranges — 65
7. Manningham — 63
8. Whitehorse — 55
9. Whittlesea — 52
10. Hume — 51
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