RoSPA Virtual Home Safety Conference 2023
Tuesday, February 28, 2023
What can we learn to prepare for the way we live now?
The last few years have seen major changes in the ways in which we live, work and use our homes. Many of us are now spending more time there than ever before as boundaries between home, work and leisure become merged. It remains true, however, that although the home for most of us is the most familiar and comfortable place, more people are injured in accidents in their own home than anywhere else. Challenges to the cost of living only adds further uncertainty to the mix as we seek to heat, light, cook and live more economically.
The RoSPA 2023 Home Safety Webinar will look at a range of activities aimed at better informing us on how we can reduce accidents and stay safe at home. What can we learn from the evaluation of a major home safety equipment scheme? Does it have lessons for how we protect our young families at home today? How is the cost-of-living crisis affecting our capacity to stay safe at home and what can we do about it? Will better data on home accidents from hospitals help us in the fight to reduce accidents and raise awareness? How safe are the products made for our homes and what is being done to make sure that they are as safe as possible?
This webinar will be of interest to anyone who is involved in work to help consumers, families and work colleagues live their lives free from serious accidental injury in the home.
Programme:
13:00- 13:05 – Introduction from Chair
Nathan Davies (Executive Head of Policy and Portfolio, RoSPA)
13:05 - 13:25 – Safe at Home – What did we learn? An evaluation of the National Home Safety Programme, and insights for the future
Can home safety equipment schemes save lives and can they do this cost-effectively. The National Home Safety Equipment Scheme, delivering home safety equipment to over 67,000 families between 2009 and 2011, was probably the biggest intervention of its kind. Now, as a new evaluation has been published into both effectiveness and economic costs of the programme, what can we learn that will help us to deliver similar local schemes effectively. Professor Denise Kendrick and Matthew Jones, from the research team at the University of Nottingham will share their findings.
Professor Denise Kendrick leads the Injury Epidemiology and Prevention Research Group (IEPRF) at the University of Nottingham. She is trained in public health, medical statistics and general practice. She has worked in the field or injury prevention for over 30 years. Her work focusses on:
- Evaluating the effect of interventions to reduce injuries and minimise the impact of injuries on patients’ lives
- The epidemiology of injuries, including exploring social variations in injury risk
- Measuring the long term impact of injuries and improving injury outcomes
- Developing methodology in injury prevention research
Matthew attained a BSc in Economics from the University of York in 2007, going on to study for a MSc in Health Economics. Matthew joined the University of Nottingham in 2008, first working in the Research Design Service for the East Midlands, before starting a PhD in economic evaluation in 2010, which he completed in 2015. Since then, he has been working as an Assistant Professor of Health Economics supporting various research groups within the Lifespan and Population Health Unit within the School of Medicine. His primary focus is on further refinements of the Economic Impacts of Smoking in Pregnancy (ESIP) model as well as other economic evaluations.
13:35 - 13:45 – The Product Safety Data Project: What did we do, what did we find, and where do we go from here?
Speaker: Ashley Martin (Public Health Adviser, RoSPA)
There is often a cry for better data in relation to home accidents and the products that are often involved in them. It’s now over twenty years since reliable data was available through the Home Accident Surveillance System. A pilot project, supported by BEIS, has sought to find out what data may exist within hospital accident emergency records that can shed light on accidents that happen at home. This presentation will explore the approach taken and some initial findings.
Ashley Martin is the Public Health Adviser for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). RoSPA is a leading safety charity that has been giving advice, education and training aimed at preventing accidents for over 100 years. Ashley is responsible for advising on home safety policy, working with national and local government, the health service, business and charity sectors and other safety organisations. He manages a range of programmes aimed at raising awareness of home and product safety among all age groups. He joined RoSPA in 2009, after over 20 years in injury prevention and public health in local government.
13:45 - 14:05 – The Product Safety Review
Speaker: Susan Bide (Office for Product Safety & Standards)
We want the products we buy for our homes to be safe and reliable, and to be able to purchase them from trusted, reliable sources. The Office for Product Safety and Standards, the Government department responsible for the safety of consumer products in the UK will give an update on the recent Product Safety Review and priorities for ensuring that products are as safe as possible.
14:05 - 14:25 – Cost of Living Increases – What has the impact been for safety? Insights from the Fire Service
Speaker: Ged Devereaux (Strategic Health Lead, National Fire Chiefs Council)
The increased cost of living is affecting all our decisions at the moment. But how can we make sure that we are taking decisions that do not compromise our safety and that of our families. The Fire Service often sees some of the worst effects of accidents that could have been prevented. This presentation will highlight the deadly effect of some “cost saving” measures and the importance of putting safety first.
14:25 - 14:30 – Close from Chair