A new public health campaign, Keeping Kids Safe in the Home, which aims to reduce the number of domestic accidents involving under 5s in Edinburgh, has been launched by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).
Evidence shows that falls, poisonings, burns and scalds – many of which happen in the home – are the most common injuries leading to A&E attendance and hospital admission for pre-school children.
In an effort to address this RoSPA’s partners for the Keeping Kids Safe project, the Family Nurse Partnership and NHS Lothian Heath Visitors will distribute resource packs, which seek to equip parents and guardians of young children with the knowledge needed to avoid accidents in the home.
Joint funded by the Safer Communities Directorate of the Scottish Government, the Keeping Kids Safe pack provides life-saving advice, tips and tools, including an easy-to-fit cupboard catch, a nursery thermometer, a falls prevention height chart, a coaster, door jammer and useful kitchen/bathroom resources (a flannel and a weaning spoon). A leaflet covering household poisons and tips to prevent children choking on small foods will also be included.
Ash Denham MSP, Community Safety Minister said: “The Scottish Government is pleased to support RoSPA’s Keeping Kids Safe at Home initiative.
“This project in Edinburgh will provide us with an important insight into how parents and carers respond to safety information, which will help to inform future approaches to engaging with parents and carers of under 5s, who we know are the most vulnerable to harm.”
Val Alexander, health visiting clinical nurse manager and the Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) service manager said: ‘The Keeping Kids Safe packs will be issued to 800 of the families across the south east of the city, and to families receiving the Family Nurse Partnership Service.
“We look forward to receiving feedback from our families on the safety packs’.
Carlene McAvoy, community safety development manager at RoSPA Scotland, said: ‘Due to their inquisitive nature, children under the age of five are among the most likely age group to end up in A&E because of a home accident.
‘The Keeping Kids Safe project will contribute towards the health and wellbeing of young vulnerable children by providing families with the skills, equipment and knowledge needed to prevent accidents and injury in the home.’
RoSPA has prepared a short film to be used in the Keeping Kids Safe project, with real-life scenarios highlighting common incidents involving children under the age of five.
The Keeping Kids Safe project will also carry out research with parents to explore how they respond to and use the safety information and equipment provided in the resource packs. This is being undertaken by Powellite, an Edinburgh-based non-for-profit service evaluation company.
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