ACC challenges Manawatū to 'have a hmmm' while at home

Always use the right knife for the job and don't cut anything frozen. Photo / ACC

Since Covid-19 hit our shores, New Zealanders have changed the way they live and work.

ACC is stressing the importance of keeping our bubbles and homes a safe place.

"We want people to be doing the things that they love at home," head of injury prevention Isaac Carlson says.

"But we also want to collectively change our mindset on preventing injury so we can get through this period without serious injury."

The home is the most likely place for New Zealanders to get injured.

ACC accepted 4.9 million claims for injuries around the home from 2016 to 2020, which cost $5.6 billion to help people recover.

Last year, just over 1 million claims were accepted, which cost $1.4 billion, an increase of $143 million from 2019.

On average, one in five New Zealanders will injure themselves in their home every year, which is something ACC wants to change.

"We're challenging all New Zealanders to have a 'hmmm'. Take a moment to think about what you're about to do and what could go wrong to prevent injury," Carlson says.

Taking a pause for a few seconds can save days, weeks, months or a lifetime of harm and hurt – for the person and others.

The 50-59-year-old age group is the most likely to be injured at home ahead of the 0-9 age group.

Females have a higher proportion of claims than males, but males cost more.

Here are the seven ways New Zealanders are hurting themselves at home.

1. Falls
Falls are often attributed to older age groups but they happen at any age. The most affected age group for falls at home from 2016–2020 was 0-9 years old.

In the past five years there were 86,049 new claims for fall injuries at home in Manawatū-Whanganui and there were 18,400 falls injuries at home last year, the highest for this period.

2. Lifting and Carrying
Lifting and carrying injuries occur when a load is too heavy, it's difficult to grasp, or it's too large so the physical effort is too strenuous.

Those in the 30-39 age group are most likely to have a lifting or carrying injury, and they're most commonly injuring their lower back.

In Manawatū-Whanganui in the past five years 21,763 injuries were caused by lifting and carrying at home.

3. Animal-related
Children from 0-9 years old lead this injury and are most commonly suffering bites and scratches from their cuddly companions.

ACC accepted more than 325,000 new claims for animal-related injuries at home over the past five years and our young ones are learning how to build a relationship with their furry friends the hard way.

There were 17460 animal related injury claims at home in Manawatū-Whanganui over the past five years and 3364 in 2020.

Use lockdown as a chance to teach how to interact safely with animals in your home.

4. Gardening
Kiwis love to get in the garden all year round and lockdowns are a great chance to tidy up the backyard.

The 60-69-year-old age group are most commonly injured in the garden, and they're hurting their lower back the most.

5. Punctures and cuts
Punctures are the fifth-most common injury at home and many of us know well the knife cut.

There were 13,323 puncture injuries in Manawatū-Whanganui in the past five years and 3883 in 2020, the highest for this period.

Our fingers and thumbs are most commonly suffering.

6. Twisting movement
Putting our back out is a common injury, and for the 50-59 year-olds this happens a lot in their lower back.

There have been over 282,000 new claims for twisting injuries over the past five years, with 57,000 in 2020.

7. Collision/knocked over
Over the past five years there have been more than 250,000 new claims for collision injuries in New Zealand.

In Manawatū-Whanganui there were 11,199 collision injuries in the past five years and 2341 in 2020.