A One year survey of accidents on Irish farms and their medical outcome

Doyle, Y. and Conroy, R., 1988. A one year survey of accidents on Irish farms and their medical outcome. Journal of Occupational Accidents, 10: 199-208. During a one year prospective survey of farming accidents in four sample Irish counties, 451 non-fatal cases were presented to four hospital accident and emergency (A&E) departments. There were eight mortalities. The majority (59%) of non-fatal accident cases were full or part-time farmers, but 14% of the non-fatal, and 50% of the fatal cases were aged 16 years or less. Most accidents occurred on dairy and mixed farms, and falls, blows, tractors and animals caused these accidents. Lack of safety equipment, including roll-over-protective-structures on tractors was a feature of many accidents. Admissions to hospital accounted for 28% of cases and almost 80% of these required surgical procedures or transfer to a specialist unit. Over half those discharged from the A&E departments required at least two re-visits to hospital outpatient departments. A sustained educative campaign for the Irish farming community is needed to highlight these hazards. This should be backed up with more incentives for safe work practices and stringent legislation for abuse of the safety regulations.