The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA)’s campaign for accident prevention to be made a government priority reached a major milestone this week, as MPs across the political spectrum backed our call for a National Accident Prevention Strategy during a Westminster Hall debate on rising accidental deaths in the UK.
The debate, led by Sir Andrew Mitchell MP, focused on figures from RoSPA’s Annual Review of Accidents showing accidental deaths have risen by 8% in a single year, with more than 23,000 people now killed annually in preventable accidents across the UK.
MPs from across the House, including Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, and the DUP, spoke about their experiences meeting constituents who have suffered the tragic impact of accidents, and the need for urgent and coordinated action to tackle this crisis.
The debate also covered the economic burden of accidents, in particular the pressure on the NHS caused by nearly 900,000 people – the equivalent of the population of Devon – being admitted to hospital due to accidents every year, costing the health service millions of bed days and a minimum of £6 billion.
During his speech, Sir Andrew Mitchell asked the Government to commission RoSPA to produce a report on what a National Accident Prevention Strategy should include. All MPs who spoke in the debate recognised that accident prevention is a cross-party issue, and praised RoSPA for presenting proven and practical solutions, which will save lives, make communities safer and reduce pressure on our NHS.
You can watch the full debate here (16.30 start time) Parliamentlive.tv - Westminster Hall. Alternatively you can read the transcript here National Accident Prevention Strategy - Hansard - UK Parliament
RoSPA is committed to working with MPs across all parties to ensure people are kept safe from accidental harm, in all aspects of their lives.
Thank you to all our members and supporters for their ongoing and invaluable support, which is vital in helping us to make this case for change.
Annual review of accidents
RoSPA’s Annual Review of Accidents brings together the latest available UK data on accidental deaths and hospital admissions across road, home, work and leisure settings. It shows that accidents remain a leading cause of preventable harm, with tens of thousands of people killed or seriously injured each year.
National accident prevention strategy
Ground-breaking research reveals that UK accident rates have risen sharply over the last decade. We urgently need government support to tackle this issue.