The Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) has renewed calls for the government to change its legislation surrounding thermostatic mixing valves on the back of latest admissions data.
Kevin Wellman, CIPHE CEO, said: “I find it unacceptable that so many innocent people are suffering scalds and burns. The majority of scalding incidents can be avoided, however a lack of legislation and general knowledge continues to hinder efforts to eliminate these incidents. In my opinion, it is unforgivable that government officials have continued to avoid taking responsibility for household burn and scald injuries.
“The CIPHE’s perspective on this is clear. We need to reduce the risk by raising general awareness of the dangers in our homes, we need to change legislation to enforce the use of protective devices such as TMVs in all homes not just new build, we need to educate the public on the importance of regularly maintaining these devices and we need to ensure that all those working on plumbing and heating systems are qualified and competent to do so.”
According to the latest hospital admission statistics from NHS Digital, the most vulnerable in society continued to be at a grave risk from household scalds and burns.
This included 34% of scalding admissions for children aged 9 years or under and 19% of scalding admissions among adults aged 60 years or over.
Together the groups equated to 53% of the overall statistics, despite making up just 24% of the UK population.
Latest Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) figures show around 500 children, mainly under-fives, are admitted to hospital and a further 2,000 attend A&E departments every year as a result of bath water scalds.
NHS Digital admission figures also showed that 29% of admissions for contact burns from heating appliances, pipes and radiators were aged 9 years and under, and 7% of admissions for contact burns from heating appliances, pipes or radiators were aged 60 or over.