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RoSPA - Supporting health professionals who work with children and young people

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is delighted to be supporting the Department of Health’s “Week of Action”, which is focusing on the work of health professionals in supporting families to give children and young people aged 0-19 the best start in life.

The week, which began on Monday and runs until Friday (November 21), is showcasing the work of healthcare and early years practitioners, and wider partners, and celebrating the progress made through the national health visiting and school nursing programmes.

RoSPA is providing particular support for health professionals on the subject of child home safety, with a question and answer session with Sheila Merrill, the charity’s public health adviser, taking place from 11am-12noon today (Wednesday) on the @RoSPA Twitter account (use hashtag #AskRoSPA).

Twenty free places on a RoSPA home safety training course are also being made available to health visitors, and a free e-book on home safety is being offered to subscribers to RoSPA’s fortnightly SafetyMatters e-bulletin.

Sheila Merrill said: “Accidents are the biggest killer of children and young people aged 0-19 years old - in 2012, there were 464 accident deaths in this age group across the whole of the UK. Sadly, under-5s are particularly at risk - 80 of the children who were killed in an accident in 2012 were under the age of 5.

“Under-5s are particularly vulnerable to accidents in the home, and they are heavily represented in figures for A&E visits following home accidents.

“For these reasons, we are delighted to be part of the Department of Health’s Week of Action, supporting the work of health visitors and others who do so much to help families across the country. Many of these practitioners help mums, dads and carers learn about how to keep their children safe at home, and we’re really pleased to have an opportunity to support these practitioners by answering their questions and offering them training.”

Viv Bennett, director of nursing at the Department of Health, has written a blog about the week, which includes a schedule of activities. If you’re engaging with the week via Twitter, please use the hashtag #PHPCYPWeek.

 
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