Joyce backs electrical safety campaign for older people

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Older people in Mid and West Wales are at significantly greater risk of an electrical fire in their home than any other age-group.
Over half of fires in Welsh homes are caused by electricity, with older people at far greater risk of experiencing one – according to a new report by leading safety charity, Electrical Safety First, and Swansea University.
That’s why Joyce Watson attended the launch of the report – How can we keep Older People in Wales, Safe? The report found that a third of those injured in home fires are older people (i.e. 60 and over), with those aged 80 + at least four times more likely than any other age group to be injured.
“Now winter is well and truly upon us, it’s the time of year we particularly need to keep an eye on older friends and relatives, especially in relation to electrical safety”, explains Joyce Watson AM. “Often, older people understandably want to live independently in their own homes, for as long as possible. But concerns about the cost of repairs and a lack of awareness of electrical safety means many are in homes with major safety hazards. And as this report shows, with our ageing population and the increase in age-related illness, this will be a growing problem. So I applaud Electrical Safety First for highlighting this essential issue.”
Around 80% of older people in Wales are owner-occupiers, usually living in an older building which has never had an electrical safety check. They are also likely to use older electrical appliances and worries about heating bills mean they often use cheaper heating methods, such as electrical space heaters – a common cause of house fires. The charity’s report found that deaths caused by an electrical heater are significantly higher among people aged over 80 than other age group.
Robert Jervis-Gibbons, Public Affairs Manager, Electrical Safety First, said:
“With an ageing population in Wales, we have found that older people are significantly more at risk than other age groups when it comes to electrical fires in the home. Older people in Wales represent over a third of electrical fire casualties, with people aged over 80 at least four times more likely than other age groups to have been a casualty in these fires. We must ensure that older people in Wales stay living safely in their own homes particularly in the winter when electricity is used more than other times of the year”.
Wales, like the rest of Europe, has an ageing population, with the percentage of the Welsh population aged 80 or more expected to double between 2015 and 2035 – when 1 in 4 of the population will be over 65. Inevitably, this brings a significant increase in age-related illnesses such as dementia. Electrical Safety First’s report estimates that 50,000 people aged 65+ will be living with dementia in Wales by 2025, which presents its own challenges when it comes to electrical safety.
In the report, Electrical Safety First has made a series of recommendations to the Welsh Government. These include the development of a Government-funded, free, five-yearly home electrical safety check for people aged over 80 – regardless of whether they own their own homes or rent them – and compulsory, five-yearly electrical safety checks in privately rented and social housing. They also suggest local councils work with care providers to visit people over 80, to help prevent electrical fires and that the free home safety checks, undertaken by Wales’ Fire and Rescue Services, cover electrical safety and not just smoke alarms.
In the meantime, the charity has developed a range of resources to help check the safety of a property. This includes a mobile phone app, which provides a quick visual check of the electrics in a home, plus a link to find a registered electrician in your area.
Copies of the report – How can we keep older people in Wales safe? Can be found at: www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/saferhomesWales . You can find out more about electrical safety for older people at: https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/guides-and-advice/for-older-people/
Ends
Joyce yn cefnogi ymgyrch am ddiogelwch trydan i’r henoed
Mae pobl hŷn yn Canolbarth a Gorllewin Cymru mewn llawer mwy o berygl o brofi tân trydanol yn eu cartref nag unrhyw grŵp oedran arall.
Mae dros hanner y tanau mewn cartrefi yng Nghymru yn cael eu hachosi gan drydan, gyda phobl hŷn mewn llawer mwy o berygl o brofi un – yn ôl adroddiad newydd gan yr elusen diogelwch flaenllaw, Electrical Safety First, a Phrifysgol Abertawe.
Dyna pam y bu Joyce Watson yn bresennol yn lansiad yr adroddiad – Sut gallwn ni gadw Pobl Hŷn yng Nghymru yn Ddiogel? Yn ôl yr adroddiad, mae traean o’r rhai hynny sy’n cael eu hanafu mewn tanau yn y cartref yn bobl hŷn (h.y. 60 a throsodd), ac mae pobl 80+ oed o leiaf bedair gwaith yn fwy tebygol nag unrhyw grŵp oedran arall o gael eu hanafu.
“Mae’r gaeaf wedi hen gyrraedd ac ar yr adeg hon o’r flwyddyn mae’n arbennig o bwysig ein bod yn cadw llygad ar ffrindiau a pherthnasau hŷn, yn enwedig o ran diogelwch trydanol”, eglurodd Joyce Watson AC. “Yn aml, ac yn gwbl naturiol, mae pobl hŷn eisiau byw’n annibynnol yn eu cartrefi eu hunain cyhyd â phosibl. Ond mae pryderon ynglŷn â chost gwaith atgyweirio, a diffyg ymwybyddiaeth o ddiogelwch trydanol, yn golygu bod perygl mawr i ddiogelwch yn eu cartrefi. Fel y gwelir yn yr adroddiad, oherwydd ein poblogaeth sy’n heneiddio a’r cynnydd mewn salwch sy’n gysylltiedig â henaint, bydd y broblem hon yn gwaethygu. Felly rwy’n canmol Electrical Safety First am amlygu’r mater hanfodol hwn.”
Mae tua 80% o bobl hŷn yng Nghymru yn berchen-feddianwyr, ac fel arfer maent yn byw mewn adeilad hŷn nad yw erioed wedi cael gwiriad diogelwch trydanol. Maent hefyd yn debygol o ddefnyddio hen offer trydan, ac yn aml mae pryderon ynglŷn â biliau gwresogi yn golygu eu bod yn defnyddio dulliau gwresogi rhatach, fel gwresogyddion lle trydanol – sy’n achos cyffredin o danau mewn tai. Yn ôl adroddiad yr elusen, mae nifer y marwolaethau a achosir gan wresogydd trydanol yn sylweddol uwch ymhlith pobl dros 80 oed nag mewn unrhyw grŵp oedran arall.
Meddai Robert Jervis-Gibbons, Rheolwr Materion Cyhoeddus Electrical Safety First:
“Oherwydd y boblogaeth sy’n heneiddio yng Nghymru, rydym wedi nodi bod pobl hŷn mewn llawer mwy o berygl na grwpiau oedran eraill o ddioddef oddi wrth danau trydanol yn y cartref. Mae pobl hŷn yng Nghymru yn cynrychioli dros draean o’r anafiadau a achosir gan danau trydanol, gyda phobl dros 80 oed o leiaf bedair gwaith yn fwy tebygol na grwpiau oedran eraill o gael eu hanafu yn y tanau hyn. Rhaid i ni sicrhau bod pobl hŷn yng Nghymru yn cael parhau i fyw’n ddiogel yn eu cartrefi eu hunain, yn enwedig yn y gaeaf pan fod mwy o drydan yn cael ei ddefnyddio nag ar adegau eraill o’r flwyddyn”.
Yn debyg i weddill Ewrop, mae’r boblogaeth yng Nghymru’n heneiddio a disgwylir y bydd canran y boblogaeth yng Nghymru sy’n 80 oed neu fwy yn dyblu rhwng 2015 a 2035 – pan fydd 1 o bob 4 o’r boblogaeth dros 65. Yn anochel, bydd hyn yn golygu cynnydd sylweddol yn nifer yr afiechydon sy’n gysylltiedig â henaint, fel dementia. Mae adroddiad Electrical Safety First yn amcangyfrif y bydd 50,000 o bobl 65+ oed yn byw gyda dementia yng Nghymru erbyn 2025, ac mae hyn yn creu ei heriau eu hunan o ran diogelwch trydanol.
Yn yr adroddiad, mae Electrical Safety First wedi cyflwyno cyfres o argymhellion i Lywodraeth Cymru. Mae’r rhain yn cynnwys datblygu gwiriad diogelwch trydanol yn y cartref am ddim bob pum mlynedd, a ariennir gan y llywodraeth, ar gyfer pobl dros 80 oed – heb ystyried p’un ai eu bod yn berchen ar eu cartrefi neu’n eu rhentu – a gwiriadau diogelwch trydanol gorfodol bob pum mlynedd, mewn tai cymdeithasol a thai rhent preifat. Maent hefyd yn awgrymu bod cynghorau lleol yn cydweithio gyda darparwyr gofal i ymweld â phobl dros 80 oed er mwyn helpu i atal tanau trydanol, a bod y gwiriadau diogelwch yn y cartref am ddim a gynhelir gan Wasanaethau Tân ac Achub Cymru yn cwmpasu diogelwch trydanol ac nid dim ond larymau mwg.
Yn y cyfamser, mae’r elusen wedi datblygu amrywiaeth o adnoddau a all helpu i wirio diogelwch eiddo. Mae’r rhain yn cynnwys ap ffôn symudol sy’n gwneud gwiriad gweledol cyflym ar y system drydanol mewn cartref, ynghyd â dolen er mwyn dod o hyd i drydanwr cofrestredig yn eich ardal chi.
Ceir copïau o’r adroddiad – Sut gallwn ni gadw pobl hŷn yng Nghymru yn ddiogel? yn: www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/saferhomesWales. Gallwch ddysgu mwy am ddiogelwch trydanol ar gyfer pobl hŷn yn: https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/guides-and-advice/for-older-people/
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