MPs have backed a call by Mary Creagh, MP for Wakefield, for a change in the law that could see fitting of anti-scald taps and controls on baths and showers made compulsory.
Creagh tabled a Private Members' Bill, Prevention of Scalding Injuries (Bathing in the Home), in the House of Commons in April with 80 MPs showing initial support. She has now asked the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and DEFRA to include her proposals to make thermostatic mixing valves (TMV) a legal requirement for all new builds alongside their other current considerations for changes to building regulations. A decision could be reached after the summer.
Creagh says: "The tragedy is that scalding accidents can be prevented. Thermostatic mixing valves can be fitted to domestic boilers to regulate water temperature and a law to this effect is being introduced in Scotland this month. I am calling on the Government to do the same south of the border. We need to change the law to stop these horrific accidents from happening."
Every year, around 20 people die as a result of scalds caused by hot bath water, and a further 570 suffer serious scald injuries, with children and the elderly particularly at risk. Mira md Roger Wilson applauds the campaign. He says: "Sadly, scalding injuries are much more common than most people realise. Perhaps it is not also realised that the solution - thermostatic control of taps and showers - is already an available, straightforward and proven technology. We urge specifiers, in private and public sector housing, to include thermostatic controls on their baths and showers."
Mary Creagh's initiative has cross-party support with backing from Liberal Democrat MP Annette Brooke, who is also championing the 'Hot Water Burns Like Fire' campaign, fronted by actress Amanda Redman.
The House of Lords is the venue for a special needs platform this month presented by the BMA's commercial director Yvonne Orgill, who is also chairman of the National Home Improvement Council. She will submit considerations for improved bathroom design awareness for 10% of the population who suffer from various degrees of disabilities.
