ACCIDENTAL poisoning is fast becoming a hidden home‑safety crisis, The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has warned.
New figures show 5,770 people died from accidental poisoning in 2024, marking a 63 per cent rise over 10 years.
The data reveal older adults are bearing the brunt. Some 2,371 lives were lost among people aged 65 and over, making them more than twice as likely to die from accidental poisoning as the general population.
RoSPA has published new guidance highlighting how people living with dementia are among those at particular risk.
The surge of cases saw English hospitals record 17,252 poisoning-related admissions last year – almost 5,000 of them involving older adults who were 55 per cent more likely to require urgent care.
RoSPA’s guidelines help households protect vulnerable loved ones and include simple steps to help prevent dangerous chemicals being mistaken for everyday items.
Many domestic products can be opened and swallowed in moments, especially when confusion, memory loss or impaired visual recognition makes hazardous substances look harmless.
Rebecca Guy, senior policy manager at RoSPA, said: “Families with vulnerable relatives can often deal with genuinely frightening moments.
“Turning away for just a few seconds, and realising someone has swallowed a cleaning product is sadly a reality that some of the public have experienced.
“These aren’t freak accidents. They are predictable, preventable events and our new guidance is designed to help people act fast to make their homes safer.”
Tips
To reduce the risk of accidental poisoning, RoSPA suggests locking away cleaning and laundry products in high cupboards or secured storage and keeping medicines tightly controlled – use organisers, track doses and store them out of sight.
Other tips include ensuring harmful products stay in their original containers and removing ‘confusion triggers’, for example, keep lookalike bottles – such as bright drinks and cleaning fluids – apart and supervise more closely when unfamiliar items, visitors or new products are around.
People can conduct weekly ‘hazard sweeps’ of kitchens, bathrooms and utility areas.
Paul Edwards, chief nursing officer at Dementia UK, said: “Laundry and cleaning products are often easily accessible in our homes, and many have brightly coloured packaging which can cause confusion for people with dementia, who may mistake them for other, edible items.
“One of the challenges of supporting someone with dementia is balancing the risk between an individuals’ autonomy and their safety.
“It is impossible to eliminate risk completely but these guidelines offer simple steps people can take to reduce the chance of accidents happening and provide a helpful checklist for both professional care environments and in the home.”
Alzheimer’s Society senior knowledge officer Simon Wheeler said: “Staying safe is important for people with dementia who want to keep living at home for as long as possible, as well as for those who support them.
“As a person’s dementia progresses, they might have trouble telling the difference between something that’s safe to eat and something that isn’t.
“If you want to reduce the risk of accidents, make sure that you store your cleaning products, like laundry detergents, safely in a cupboard and out of sight. Don’t leave them out on a worktop or near any food or drinks, especially if they might be mistaken for sweets or drinks.”
