A Day in the Life of Fingershield
A Fingershield may be small but we have a very important job to do. There’s a big clue to our function in the name. As a Fingershield, we protect fingers from getting trapped in doors.
How We Protect your Little Ones
It’s a simple and effective task. We cover the gap in the hinge side of doors so there is no room for fingers to sneak in and risk being injured or even lost, if the door slams shut.
We’re used in many public buildings, especially nurseries, schools, hospitals, shops and retail centres, GP surgeries, health clinics, centres for people with mental or physical disabilities and elderly care homes.
My Job
I work in a nursery which looks after 40 children, from tiny babies through to four-year-olds. We also run a breakfast club for school children and an after-school club. These attract about another 40 children aged from five to 11-years-old.
It’s very busy and noisy, especially when the children arrive in the morning. They’re keen to catch up with their friends and often run into the rooms, despite constantly being told that they should walk.
They also fling open the doors in their rush to get into the centre without thinking about shutting the doors carefully.
That’s where I come in. I am one of 12 Fingershields at this particular centre. I look after a door leading to the room for four-year-olds. My colleagues stand guard on doors leading to the centre’s rooms for babies, tiny tots, the breakfast room and the toilets.
Apart from the morning, we’re also kept busy throughout the day as children, their parents and the centre’s supervisors are constantly going back and forth.
How We Got Here
We were installed when the centre had a major makeover 18 months ago. The nursery was installing new windows, fire-proof doors and furniture and was re-decorated.
The builder came around to hand in her estimate and suggested putting in Fingershields on the doors at the same time.
She mentioned the number of accidents caused by little hands getting trapped in doors and that compensation claims could be really high.
By putting Fingershields on all the doors at a relatively low cost, fingers would be saved, as well as the centre’s reputation.
Our Nursery Manager did a quick Google check and found that there are around 40,000 accidents involving children and doors in the UK every year, according to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.
With the average claim for compensation running into thousands of pounds, plus the horror of knowing you may have needlessly injured or maimed a child, the decision to install Fingershields was an easy one.
While the owner was on the internet looking up fascinating facts about finger injuries, she decided to order us there and then.
Safe and Aesthetically Pleasing
We arrived soon afterwards and our easy-to-follow instructions meant that we were installed quickly and in plenty of time for the children to arrive on the Monday after our refurbishment.
We were kept very busy on that first day as the supervisors and parents were as excited as the children to see the new décor. It felt as though my door was swinging open every five minutes but it was worth it to see the children’s faces light up when they saw the colourful murals on the walls featuring all of their favourite characters.
It has quietened down a little now but my door is still in constant use during opening hours.
We like to think of ourselves as ‘unsung heroes’, as nobody really notices that we are there. But they would soon know if we were taken out and an accident occurred, that’s for sure.
