RoSPA and the OPSS

Earlier this month, the newly-formed Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) – a governmental body – released its strategy outlining how it plans to improve the recall and mass repair of products to strengthen product safety and better protect consumers and businesses.

As part of the extensive measures announced, we at RoSPA and other public health organisations will be working with the OPSS as part of our drive for better injury data collection.

Detailed data on the reasons as to why people are attending A&E are vital, if we are to develop evidence-based injury prevention measures. If we do not know the injuries being sustained, the causes of the injury, and the demographics of those suffering the injuries, we cannot effectively prevent unintentional injury and help to ease the burden on the NHS and social services.

At RoSPA, we have proven time and again that where data is available, we are able to work with partner organisations to reduce the risk of accidental injury. Three recent examples demonstrate the value of data in driving injury prevention:

• After discovering a tragic trend of child strangulation due to looped blind cords, over the past few years we have worked with the British Blind and Shutter Association (BBSA) among others, to help develop regulations that make looped cords a thing of the past and encouraged retailers to pass on safety messages to their customers.
• Our work with the UK Cleaning Products Industry Association (UKCPI) to address the risks associated with domestic cleaning products has led to improved product design and awareness-raising programmes that have halved hospital attendance rates in geographic areas where injury rates were relatively high.
• Trampolining can be great fun, great exercise and…safe when bouncers know how to land safely and follow simple rules like ‘one at a time’. Unfortunately garden trampolines and trampolining parks have been associated with significant injury rates, prompting RoSPA to work with manufacturers, operators and clinicians to develop practical guidelines and regulations that reduce the risk of injury without reducing any of the fun.  

However, data collection on the causes of accidental injuries is at best sporadic, and quite often lacking in the detail needed for injury prevention programmes.

Over the past few years we have been working with other organisations to improve the way data is collected, but we are not there yet, so we are looking forward to working on this issue with the OPSS – we know that an improvement in the data will better help the Government protect our homes and our loved ones, and reduce the pressure on hard-pressed hospital Emergency Departments.

For more RoSPA information on looped blind cords, domestic cleaning products, garden trampolines and trampoline parks, see:

https://www.rospa.com/campaigns-fundraising/current/blind-cord/

https://www.rospa.com/home-safety/advice/child-safety/household-cleaning-products/

https://www.rospa.com/leisure-safety/advice/trampoline/

https://www.rospa.com/play-safety/advice/trampolines/