RoSPA Press Office : Press Release

November 5, 2002
NEW HOME SAFETY PLAN LAUNCHED IN WALES

A 10-point plan to make new homes safer will be launched at the first Wales Home Safety Council national conference on Thursday (November 7).

Pembrokeshire architect John Pickett has worked with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents on simple ideas to make new houses considerably safer for less than £900.

The Home Sweet Home? Conference, in association with RoSPA, has been arranged because home accidents result in about 4,000 deaths annually in the UK and send 2.8 million people to hospital for treatment – making the home the country’s biggest accident menace.

Jane Hutt, Welsh Assembly Minister for Health and Social Services, will make the keynote address at the Village Hotel, Cardiff (9.40am). Her audience will include health specialists, housing managers, emergency services representatives, social services staff and community workers.

RoSPA is seeking the support of regulatory authorities and house builders to put its new policies for the design and build stage for homes into action.

The Society believes that if its proposals were included in new building regulations and guidelines, they would save lives and prevent thousands of injuries each year.

RoSPA’s plan calls for: built-in lockable cupboards for medicines and chemicals; fixing points for stair gates; fixing points for fire-guards; window restrictors on windows above ground level; easily accessible window controls; lower treads on stairs and a “dog leg” bend in the staircase to reduce the distance of falls; grab rails by the bath and WC; hand-rails on both sides of stairs; improved water temperature control, including thermostatic taps; provision of safety advice for home and garden.

Several speakers will outline initiatives taken to combat home accidents in Wales thanks to funding from the Department for Trade and Industry’s Modernisation Fund. Subjects tackled include falls, scalds and carbon monoxide poisoning. Professor Ronan Lyons will talk about the All-Wales Injury Surveillance System.

Councillor Russell Davies, Chairman of the Wales Home Safety Council, said: “At present 10 people in the UK die as a result of a home accident every day, and 8,000 seek medical treatment. The most vulnerable are the very young and the very old. By working together more effectively, we in Wales can prevent many of these accidents happening by making home safety a priority.”