RoSPA Press Office : Press Release

September 5, 2008
ACTION TO PREVENT ACCIDENTS AMONG WEST MIDLANDS CHILDREN

Preventing accidents among children in the West Midlands will be the aim of a conference in Birmingham next month.

Accidental injury is one of the main causes of child death, with 246 under-15s dying as a result of accidents in England and Wales in 2006.

Nearly a million children under the age of 15 go to a hospital emergency department in the UK each year after a home accident, and half of those are under five. Another million are hurt while out and about enjoying themselves. Road casualty figures show nearly 24,000 under-16s were injured in road accidents in Britain in 2007.

To combat the problem, the West Midlands Home and Leisure Safety Council (WMH&LSC) and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents will be hosting a conference on Wednesday, October 1, at Tally Ho Police Training Centre, Pershore Road, Edgbaston, starting at 9.30am.

Entitled Making a Song and Dance About Child Safety, the conference will include a focus on how the arts can play a part in tackling accidental injuries.

There will be music and drama presentations by the Malachi Community Trust and demonstrations of how finger puppets can help children learn about staying safe.

Speakers will include Jenny McWhirter, RoSPA Risk Education Adviser, on Children’s Perception of Risk, and Lorraine Hare, Dogs Trust Education Officer, on learning how to be safe around dogs.

Sessions will be chaired by Karen Saunders, Senior Public Health Manager, Children and Inequalities, Department of Health West Midlands, and there will be opportunities for wider discussions on subjects that interest delegates.

The conference, which was rescheduled from April, is aimed at people who work with children and parents including: nursery and early years staff; children’s centre staff; child minders; nursery nurses; foster carers; child care training colleges; children’s services; and voluntary organisations, such as St John Ambulance, Red Cross and scouts and guides. There will be an exhibition of training courses, information sources, safety products and games.

Colin Morris, RoSPA Home Safety Manager in the West Midlands, said: “Accidents cause a great deal of suffering and heartache to children and their parents, but, thankfully, many of them are avoidable. This conference will be looking at the practical steps that can be taken to prevent children from being hurt.”

For more information, contact Carolyn Lindsay, chair of WMH&LSC (0121 712 8371, carolyn.lindsay@solihull-ct.nhs.uk) or Colin Morris (0121 248 2107, cmorris@rospa.com).