In its report to the chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, the Taskforce said, 'The burden of accidental death and injury is disproportionately heavy on the most disadvantaged in society. Residential fire deaths for children are 15 times greater for children in social class five compared with those in social class one.'
The Taskforce called for action to be targeted on deprived groups, particularly children and older people living in privately rented and temporary accommodation, and households in which people smoke. It said fire brigades should install smoke alarms, make home risk assessments and safety checks, and draw up escape plans for homes.
A spokesman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said, 'More resources need to be put into accident prevention if the recommendations of the Taskforce are to be implemented. Accidents in the home have been a Cinderella area in the past, but in the past couple of years we have seen a commitment to tackling this problem and this report should help this process.'
The report also noted that out of 300,000 road accident casualties in the UK in 2000, more than 16,000 were child pedestrians. In a background paper for the Taskforce on the prevention of childhood injury, Dr Elizabeth Towner of Newcastle University's Department of Child Health said that children from deprived backgrounds are five times more likely to die in a pedestrian accident.
The Taskforce, which began its work in November 2000, included leading experts on accidents from universities as well as representatives from the NHS, local government, the police, the voluntary sector and Government departments.
The Taskforce has recommended the implementation of initiatives to prevent and reduce accidents, including 20mph speed limits in densely-populated areas, local child pedestrian training schemes, systematic road safety interventions in inner city areas, and promoting the use of cycle helmets, which have been shown to reduce deaths and serious injury.
Welcoming the report's recommendations, Sir Liam Donaldson said, 'Over half a million accidents result in admission to hospital for treatment. Treating injury costs the NHS a staggering 2bn a year.' He said that preventive action must be co-ordinated across a range of agencies and Government departments.
