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admin
Admin
24 Posts
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 Posted -
08/03/2010
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16:15
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More than 100 local schemes have been approved to join Safe At Home, the national home safety equipment scheme run by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.
The milestone means that free access to home safety equipment is a reality for thousands of families in areas with the highest accident rates in England. Many more families are benefiting from safety information and advice which is helping them take steps to prevent home accidents.
A scheme in Durham became the 100th to be approved and it began installing equipment last month.
Accidents in the home are the biggest cause of injury to young children and Safe At Home, which was launched in February 2009, aims to reduce accidents among the most vulnerable under-fives. The scheme sees RoSPA, a safety charity, working with local authorities, children’s centres, fire and rescue services and other charities to provide home safety kits, which include safety gates, fireguards and window restrictors, at a local level.
The Durham scheme, which also covers Chester-le-Street and Easington, is being run by the Whoops! Child Safety Project. Whoops has been running Safe At Home schemes in Gateshead, North Tyneside and South Tyneside since last year.
Carole Hewison, Whoops! Child Safety Project director, said: “It takes a second to change a child’s life forever – leaving the child scarred, disfigured or disabled. The guilt placed on families following an injury like this to a child is almost too great a cost to bear.
“Education around prevention is something that we at Whoops excel in - reaching thousands of parents and carers each year. Now with the addition of safety equipment to further prevent serious injury we are hopeful that the admissions to hospital are fewer and that children grow up without ever having a serious accident.”
As well as more than 100 local schemes approved, other highlights of Safe At Home’s first year have been: - the making of a home safety film which has been made freely available online and on DVD to all home safety practitioners in England. More than 4,200 copies of the DVD have been requested so far and nearly 450 people have watched the film online
- the production of Safe At Home height charts, also made freely available to home safety practitioners, of which more than 208,600 have been requested
RoSPA has been delighted with the response from families who have received equipment during Safe At Home’s first year.
One mum, Julie Davies, of Sunderland, who found out about Safe At Home through her health visitor, was so impressed with the pair of kitchen cupboard locks she received that she has decided to get some more to prevent 10 month-old Ben opening other cupboard doors.
She said: “These are an excellent product but we need more because of our son being a very lively and mobile little baby who loves to open cupboard doors constantly!
“I would encourage all parents with babies and small children to take advantage of Safe At Home and to get their safety equipment fitted free of charge. You have nothing to lose and a lot to gain from going ahead with the scheme.”
Stacey Murray, of Gateshead, found out about the scheme at her son Kaden’s two-year health check. She said: “I would urge others to see if they too can benefit from the scheme and make their home as safe as they possibly can for their own children.”
Laura Duckhouse, of Dudley, had a Safe At Home assessment and received equipment when her daughter Lauren was 11-months-old. She said: “This scheme is brilliant. It has saved Lauren from hurting herself, and I've got a little nephew too, so it's not just about Lauren."
Sheila Merrill, RoSPA’s home safety manager for England, said: “Safe At Home aims to prevent the suffering caused when young children are injured in home accidents.
“To have reached the milestone of 100 approved schemes is exciting. Figures can be bland, but let’s not forget that for each scheme, there are many families receiving equipment and advice which is making a real difference in their everyday lives.”
Safe At Home is funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.
You can read more news from local schemes and participating families at www.safeathome.rospa.com/news/ To find out if Safe At Home operates in your area and to watch the home safety film, visit www.safeathome.rospa.com
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SAFE AT HOME PASSES MILESTONE OF 100 LOCAL SCHEMES
