RoSPA Press Office : Press Release
September 25, 2003
BUILD HOMES WITH SAFETY IN MIND SAYS RoSPA
RoSPA is calling on architects and developers to eradicate accident “blackspots” around the home by designing properties with safety in mind. The Society believes that a list of ten simple safety measures - included at the construction stage and costing only £900 - would have a colossal payback in terms of accident prevention.
Home accidents cost the National Health Service £7billion a year, but RoSPA believes this could be drastically reduced if designers paid more attention to safety when planning new projects or refurbishing properties.
Accidents in the home claim more lives and injure far more people than road accidents. Each year about 4,000 are killed by home accidents and 2.8 million injured, compared with around 3,400 road deaths and 350,000 injuries.
Ian Gordon, Housing Policy Officer for RoSPA, said: “We want architects and developers to think about safety at the planning stage. If we can gain their support, we can help them to adopt a home safety ethos at the early stages, preventing accident blackspots.
“RoSPA recognises that accident prevention is not just about the installation of physical safety measures. We also believe that education about risks in the home is important, and want developers to provide tenants and buyers with home and garden safety checklists.
“RoSPA wants homes to be made inherently safer. As low income groups suffer disproportionately from home accidents, RoSPA’s main efforts are directed towards social housing providers, although there is also interest in the private sector where there is a move to make family homes safer.”
Guidance for housing professionals is available from RoSPA in the form of a policy document titled “Can The Home Ever Be Safe?” This lists hazards and recommended risk reduction strategies in the design and construction of homes, which are equally applicable at the time of refurbishment.
The ten safety measures RoSPA believes could be included for less than £900 tackle the principal domestic accident areas. They are: built-in lockable cupboards for medicines and chemicals; fixing points for stair gates and 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.
For further information contact Ian Gordon on tel 0121 248 2103 or e-mail igordon@rospa.com
