Introduction
Did you know children’s fingers can be amputated or mutilated by unprotected doors?
Shamefully many nurseries, schools, family pubs and restaurants, fast food outlets, leisure centres, family resorts and other organisations do nothing to prevent life changing injuries to children’s fingers.
Yet these injuries are entirely preventable. We felt it was time to act.
To find out more about what Children’s Charter has to say about this problem, what it is doing and why our door finger safety code of practice is so important read on…
Door injuries to children are a preventable crime
NHS data suggests there are over 80,000* reported door related injuries in the UK costing the tax payer over £240m every year. Many of these incidents result in disabilities and disfigurement for children who suffer amputations or permanently mutilated fingers…
Statutory obligations for door finger protection
Statutory Instrument 1992 No. 3004 The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992
18. – (1) Doors and Gates. Doors and gates shall be suitably constructed (including being fitted with any necessary safety devices).
British Standards:
BS8409:2002 5.1.2 Doorways should be provided with vision panels and door closers where appropriate. Doorways should not open into traffic areas or into areas of the play space where they could present a hazard. Measures should be taken to avoid finger and foot entrapment on doors. Note; for example, a special fitting is available to mask the hinged side of doors within the indoor play facility.
BS 7036-4:1996 7.1 Finger Traps; during the opening and closing cycle of a low energy swing door, a finger trap is created by the construction, the position of the pivot point, or by other features. If practicable, such hazards should be overcome by installation of a finger guard that either fills the finger trap or minimizes the gap so not to create a finger trap
Education Act 1996 and Education (School Premises) Regulation 1999
Regulation 7 Ancillary facilities The buildings provided for a school shall be adequate to permit the provision of appropriate ancillary facilities and to permit the safe and convenient passage of persons and movement of goods within the buildings.
Children’s Charter Code of Practice
We think the recent BSI door safety standard for finger protection doesn’t go far enough in genuinely protecting children from trapped fingers...
Beware! Not all door finger devices do what they claim
We think it is criminal that there are so many products on the market claiming to be effective in preventing these injuries. Whether inadequate products are installed out of ignorance or from being misled, the person responsible for choosing the solution will always be partially blamed for injuries. There are many finger guards which, in our opinion, are totally unfit for the purpose. But don’t just take our word for it. See what Nick Barmforth MBE a pioneer and leader of safety standardisation for the children’s indoor play industry found when he conducted a series of tests on behalf of Children’s Charter. It’s a horror story…
Why only one door finger device is approved by Children's Charter