Playing around with safety is not a game the government wants to play in public playgrounds, so the Malta Standards Authority has just issued a set of standards that will have to be adhered to by all 250 playgrounds scattered around the islands.
The requirements, which are open for public consultation until the end of October, lay down the rules for public playground safety and their management.
The 12-page document outlines how the public spaces should be designed, what kind of recreational equipment can be installed, how the sites should be managed and how inspections will take place.
Playgrounds will have to be easily accessible by disabled people and different age groups must be sectioned off, since some playgrounds already have areas with exercise equipment for adults.
Another of the proposed new requirements is that all injuries on the playground should be reported so that the authority can assess what needs to be changed to avoid similar occurrences.
Parliamentary Secretary for local councils and public consultation Chris Said said this was the first standard of its kind in Europe. Countries such as Cyprus were thinking of adopting the standards themselves, he added.
After the consultation closes at the end of October, inspectors will start doing the rounds to assess whether the sites tick all the relevant criteria, and a few days after that the councils will be issued with a report on what needs to be improved to bring the playgrounds up to standard.
The changes, MSA chairman Francis Farrugia said, could be something minor such as the gradient of a ramp or length of chains on a swing, or something as drastic as removing an item deemed to be unsafe or not up to the required standard.
It is expected that initial inspections will take around a year to perform and, once the first cycle is over, routine inspections will take place. The government will be providing funds for councils to be able to get their playgrounds up to scratch.
The consultation document can be obtained by e-mailing standards@msa.org.mt.