Concussions and school sports focus of new bill

Growing concerns about young people and sports-related concussions will receive attention in new legislation that will be introduced today at Queen's Park.

The bill focuses on helping to protect students participating in school sports and health/physical education classes from the potentially serious, long-term and harmful effects of concussions. 

The legislation would also ensure that students who are concussed do not risk added complications by returning to activities too soon.

According to an Ontario government news release, the Education Amendment Act (Concussions), 2012 is part of a new concussion strategy that will:

• Provide resources to parents, teachers and school staff about the seriousness of concussions

• Build awareness beyond schools about the dangers of concussions and how they should be managed

• Establish a committee to provide advice on concussion prevention, identification and management in schools and to study how evidence-based resources can be best used.

Since 2003-04, emergency room visits for concussions have increased by 58 percent.

In 2010-11, 19,880 Ontario residents visited an emergency room for a concussion, with children accounting for nearly 38 percent of those visits.

Concussion symptoms can appear right away or several hours after an incident and can last from days to months.
 
Click here to learn more about concussions. 

Information about concussion protocols for teachers and coaches are available at this website.

"This legislation would help to prevent some concussions from happening, and would also improve the management of those who have had a concussion, " says Charles H. Tator, professor of neurosurgery, University of Toronto, and Toronto Western Hospital, founder, ThinkFirst Foundation, in the release.