Brussels, 14/03/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday, 28 European organisations - business groups, consumer organisations, standardisation bodies and safety promoters - collectively urged the European Commission to establish an EU-wide accident and injury data system.
This appeal was put to Commissioner Tonio Borg on Thursday 14 March at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), presided by Staffan Nilsson, on the occasion of the 15th annual European Consumer Day dedicated to product safety and market surveillance. The subject was very fitting as the Commission has presented two draft regulations to improve safety and increase surveillance of all non-food consumer products circulating in the single market (see EUROPE10785).
In order to establish this base of easily comparable data, a representative sample of emergency centres would have to record the cause of accidents that come to their attention. The national authorities would collect that information to record it in a European system that would serve as a basis for campaigns to heighten public awareness. This would enable manufacturers to adjust their products, legislators and surveillance authorities to take informed decisions and standardisation bodies to develop better product standards. Trailing more than 30 years behind a proven and successful US system, an adequately funded single European database would prompt significant decreases in the costs associated with the medical treatment of injuries. It would also largely compensate for the cost of creating such an instrument, states the group of bodies concerned (ANEC, CEN, CENELEC, BEUC, BusinessEurope and EuroSafe).
Some 5.7 million people are admitted to hospital each year as a result of injuries sustained in accidents and 34 million others are treated as outpatients. Of those accidents, 73% occur at home or while engaged in leisure activities. Healthcare costs are estimated at €78 billion annually arising from around 41 million injuries each year. (AN/transl.jl)