The Children’s Hospital at Westmead Launches First in Burns Prevention

Embargoed 1pm 17 February 2009

The Children's Hospital at Westmead today launched a first in Burns Prevention for Schools in NSW and the ACT. The Learn to Stop Burns! Program has been developed as an educational resource for children in an effort to lower the incidences of burns in the home. 

In order to raise awareness of burns prevention The Children's Hospital at Westmead engaged with an education consultant to develop the "Learn to Stop Burns!" program and teaching resource.

The "Learn to Stop Burns!" program is a computer-based, animated "hazard house", which allows users to journey through a house to see and learn how burns can happen and also how they can be prevented.

A teaching resource was developed containing suggested teaching and learning activities, which assist students in exploring the house.  The activities allow students to work towards achieving the stage two and stage three outcomes in the Safe living strand of the K-6 Syllabus Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE).

Dr John Harvey, Head of the Burns Unit at The Children's Hospital at Westmead sees more than 800 new burns every year, and the incidence of burns in children continues to increase.  The physical trauma suffered by the child and the anxiety suffered by the parent during the treatment process is intense.

Dr Harvey said, "The unique characteristic of burn injuries is that they are mostly preventable. We believe that if teachers can manage to integrate the Learn to Stop Burns! interactive house with a series of classroom activities, and involve parents in the process, we can have a significant impact on the incidence of burns in children."

The current version of the interactive house can be viewed at: http://www.chw.edu.au/prof/services/burns_unit/burns_prevention/burns.htm

The Children's Hospital at Westmead is the largest paediatric centre in NSW, providing the most advanced care and treatment options for children from NSW, Australia and across the Pacific Rim. 

Established in 1880, The Children's Hospital at Westmead is a stand-alone public Hospital and registered charity with 3,000 staff working in 150 departments. Over 60,000 sick children and their families are cared for each year in a family-focused, healing environment. Funded by the NSW Government, The Children's Hospital at Westmead provides significant enhancements to services aided by the generosity of individual and corporate donors.  For more information visit http://www.chw.edu.au/

For further information contact:  Julie Law, Media Assistant, The Children's Hospital at Westmead.  T: 02 9845 3572 a.h. 02 9845 0000

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