Key Risk - Loss of Memory

Forgetting the cooker is on:

The Health and Safety Executive has identified that the kitchen is the highest risk area within the domestic home for accidents. Leaving the oven on for an extended period of time is a common cause of burnt food, toxic fumes and fire. Similarly, leaving saucepans to boil dry or pans to overheat can lead to scalding, flash fires and suffocation through toxic fumes.

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Explosion due to gas left on unlit:

Domestic, or natural gas, which is predominantly methane, is in common use as a safe and efficient cooking and heating fuel. The gas needs to be mixed with air to burn and this is achieved in the burner of a cooker or boiler. Should the burner be extinguished, for example by a saucepan boiling over and the gas is not turned off the pure gas will enter the room mixing with the air. If the room ventilation is poor, or there is a large leak, the gas air mixture will eventually enter the flammable range (5 -14% by volume) and should it reach a source of ignition, such as a lighted match, a pilot light, or a spark from a light switch the gas mixture will ignite resulting in a gas explosion. Most gas hobs on sale or in use do not have a protection mechanism which would prevent the gas escaping in the absence of a flame, posing a high risk for people who might easily be distracted while preparing food.

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Forgetting to turn off taps:

Leaving a bathroom or kitchen tap on is a major cause of floods within the domestic home. Even when it would appear that the resulting spillage has been dried there may still be the risk of water damage to the property and the risks of falling is increased. In the long term persistent water damage will affect the strength of floor joists, plaster ceilings etc.

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Medication non-compliance:

It is estimated that overall medication non-compliance rates are between 25-50% however as the elderly and disabled use medication more than the rest of the population they are more likely to have difficulties. There are four main areas of non-compliance, failure to collect the prescription, failure to take the medication correctly, failure to complete the course of treatment and taking the wrong medication.

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