AIIMS launches campaign to check children's balcony fall deaths

New Delhi, November 19

Falling from a height is the biggest killer among children under 12 in India, an AIIMS, New Delhi, study has claimed. According to the study, the most prominent reason for children, in the age group below 12 years, dying of preventable causes is due to falling from a height, in most cases from a balcony.

In India, one person dies from head injury every three minutes and 30 per cent of those head injuries are witnessed in children, Professor of Neurosurgery at AIIMS, Dr Deepak Gupta, one of the authors of the study, said.

Of all head injuries seen in children, over 60 per cent result due to fall from height, Dr Gupta said.

To make people aware about this avoidable phenomenon, AIIMS, New Delhi, has launched a ‘Safe Balcony, Safe Child’ campaign.

According to an epidemiological study conducted among children less than 16 years of age at AIIMS, a total of 1,000 children with head injuries were admitted at AIIMS trauma centre over a period of four years, Dr Shefali Gulati, Professor of Paediatric Neurology said.

“Boys were two times more affected with head injuries than girls and over 60 per cent of them were due to fall from height/balcony,” Dr Gulati, who is the other author of the study, said.

Most such children came from low socioeconomic status where one of the parents was away at work and the other parent was elsewhere when the accident happened, she said.

Dr Gupta advised that balcony railing height should be made “twice the height of children in the family.” “Children often end up climbing the railing of the house in the balcony unprotected and fall over – many such children die or sustain severe head injuries. Such deaths and injuries are completely preventable,” he said.

“Through this campaign we want this message of ‘Safe Balcony and Safe Child’ to reach each and every household having children aged below 10 years,” he added.

As part of the campaign, doctors plan to visit schools, interact with students, parents, and teachers and also hold various seminars and competitions. — PTI

e-prescription for patients

• AIIMS said starting April 1, 2023, all payments will go completely digital
• The institute has also started an e-prescription system for the convenience of doctors and patients