TRAUMA expert Mark Fitzgerald says even he has been too quick to use a ladder recklessly in home renovations – and served a lucky warning, left hanging on the gutter.
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The Alfred hospital’s director of trauma services is urging all men to play it safe and be good role models as part of The Alfred Healthy Heroes Appeal this Father’s Day.
Professor Fitzgerald, from Ballarat, has seen plenty of injuries that could have been avoided with a little more caution. This could be as seemingly simple as having someone hold a ladder or knowing how to properly handle power tools.
“Some of those injuries are from those things people don’t commonly use and they’ve realised too late,” Professor Fitzgerald said. "We see lot of people on blood thinning medication, particularly older people climbing up ladders and falling – that it one thing that really concerns us at the moment – and people trying to do things again that they did five or 10 years ago.”
Professor Fitzgerald arrived in Ballarat in the early 1990s and was director of Ballarat Base Hospital ‘s emergency department until 1993, when he joined St John of God Ballarat to help set up its emergency department. He transferred to The Alfred in 1998 and still lives part-time in Ballarat, running the lake when he gets the chance and enjoying the community vibe about town.
Ballarat’s ever-evolving hospital and medical services continue to impress Professor Fitzgerald, who said this city had a long and proud legacy treating general accidents dating back to the Eureka Rebellion. Trauma service structure in the state had since changed, partly sparking his initial move to The Alfred.
More than 30 per cent of major trauma patients treated at The Alfred last year were transported from regional Victoria. The bulk of patients were males. Most common injury causes were from road accidents or head and neck damage from falls and home renovations.
Professor Fitzgerald said home renovation injuries had been on the rise the past few years – possibly a mixture of home make-over show inspiration and more people taking up domestic activity with a tightened economy. Either way, he would prefer the end result be a sound, safe renovation.
*Support The Alfred Healthy Heroes Father’s Day Appeal at alfredfoundation.org.au or call 1800 888 878.
