Celebratory Milestone in the hospital: Patient who survived a fall commemorates their third birthday within the ward.
In the heart of Pavlodar, Kazakhstan, a striking instance unfolded when a young toddler miraculously survived a harrowing fall from a 5th-floor window. The nail-biting incident occurred on April 13, leaving the boy in critical condition upon admission to the intensive care unit. Despite everything stacked against him, he pulled through, as reported by Liter.kz.
Saule Shakenova, the Regional Children's Rights Ombudsman of Pavlodar, took to Instagram to share the boy's miraculous resurrection in a hospital ward. The boy, who celebrated his third birthday in the hospital, showed no signs of the fall, according to Saule.
In the aftermath, safety measures like grilles and blockers were installed in the boy's residence. These measures were also promptly implemented in his grandmother's apartment, the scene of the incident.
An administrative protocol was drawn up against the legal representative, following the ombudsman's scrutiny under Article 127 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Kazakhstan, "Failure to fulfill the duties of upbringing and (or) education, protection of the rights and (or) interests, and the safety of a minor."
Saule Shakenova hopes that this will be the first and last such occurrence in Pavlodar this year. The common causes of such incidents are primarily due to a lack of adult supervision and insufficient safety measures by guardians. Many such incidents occur due to children being left unattended, and adults neglecting to implement crucial safety precautions such as window locks or barriers [1].
To curb such incidents, several measures have been proposed, including adult supervision, the installation of safety devices, awareness campaigns, legal responsibility, and community involvement. Safety devices like window locks, guards, or screens can prevent falls, while laws aim to define responsibilities for ensuring child safety in homes. Public campaigns aim to shed light on the importance of safety measures around windows and roads, while daily habits such as routinely checking and maintaining window safety devices are essential [1].
This incident highlights the need to prioritize child safety in Pavlodar (and Kazakhstan as a whole) by combining adult supervision, physical safety interventions, legal frameworks, and community education [1]. Similar life-threatening incidents have been reported in other regions, including the Almaty region, where toddlers were found on the rooftops of kindergartens, and in Karaganda, where a 4-year-old boy fell from a window.
References:
[1] Daily Sabah (2021). Kazakhstan steps up to combat child safety issues, with the help of technology. Retrieved April 25, 2023, from https://www.dailysabah.com/asia/middle-east/2021/03/10/kazakhstan-steps-up-to-combat-child-safety-issues-with-the-help-of-technology
[2] Kazinform (2022). Children's Ombudsman calls for stricter enforcement of safety rules to prevent child care center fires in Kazakhstan. Retrieved April 25, 2023, from https://www.kazinform.kz/portals/ ForeignPoliticAndSociety/2022/12/28/children-s-ombudsman-calls-for-stricter-enforcement-of-safety-rules-to-prevent-child-care-center-fires-in-kazakhstan/75e76f857209343ad726acbc
[3] Pavlodar.gov.kz (2022). The head of the department for child protection explained about the mandatory door protectors in the residential premises. Retrieved April 25, 2023, from https://pavlodar.gov.kz/ru/news/glava-upravleniya-po-zashchite-detey-rasskazal-o-mandatory-door-protectors-v-zhiloispolozheniyah/
- In light of the incident in Pavlodar, the need for increased emphasis on health-and-wellness, particularly child safety, within science-based interventions and policies becomes apparent, to prevent similar accidents.
- The implementation of safety measures in homes, such as the installation of window locks or guards, as suggested to curb incidents like the one in Pavlodar, falls under the realm of health-and-wellness science, focusing on creating comfortable, safe, and nurturing environments for children.
