(MENAFN- Gulf Times) More than 200 serious injuries and 35 deaths of children take place in Qatar yearly due to road accidents, an HMC official has said. The Hamad Trauma Centre at the Hamad General Hospital (HGH) is commemorating the third UN Global Road Safety Week (GRSW) by signing a declaration for the Road Safety of Children in Qatar.
Dr Rafael Consunji, director of the HMC Injury Prevention Programme, cited the reasons for commemorating this week saying: "Motor vehicle crashes lead to more than 200 serious injuries and 35 deaths to children in Qatar. The fact that nearly 90% of these deaths happen at the scene, and are not treated at HMC hospitals highlights the importance of preventing these injuries from happening in the first place."
In conjunction with the Ministry of Interior, the National Committee on Traffic Safety and the Supreme Council of Health, and other stakeholders will sign the declaration for five key actions to make children safer on the roads.
The actions are: To serve as a role model by always using a seatbelt on every trip I take in a vehicle; observe the school zone speed limit of 30kph when I am driving around schools; transport children, under the age of 10 years, in the back row of my vehicle and restrain them using the appropriate car seat or restraint system; refrain from driving when I am impaired by fatigue, medications, drugs or alcohol and avoid using any form of mobile phone, electronic devices or serious distractions while driving.
According to Dr Hassan al-Thani, head of Trauma Services at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) some of the "most important work" to ensure safer roads must be done outside the operating theatre.
Key stakeholders for the health of children from HMC convened to present ongoing efforts to improve the child road safety in Qatar. Dr Ruben Peralta, Lead Principal Investigator of the Qatar Foundation's National Priority Research Programme grant titled 'Young Kids in Safe Seats (Y-KISS)' presented the objectives of the grant, citing the important contributions from the Primary Health Care Corporation.
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