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A new Scottish Parliament group is being launched to tackle the thousands of unnecessary deaths and serious injuries from accidents in Scotland.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) in Scotland believes the new Cross Party Group on Accident Prevention and Safety Awareness could make in-roads in cutting the number of accidents at home, on the road, in leisure, in schools and colleges, and at work.
 The group’s first meeting at the Scottish Parliament on June 26 will highlight the potential poisoning dangers of children getting their hands on toxic cleaning products and how families can prevent this in their home. Minister for Children and Young People, Aileen Campbell, will also attend this meeting.
Figures show there were 1,657 deaths caused by accidents in Scotland in 2010/11, while accidental injury continues to be the main cause of death for children after infancy across the UK.
RoSPA Scotland is providing the secretariat for the Cross Party Group, which is convened by MSP Clare Adamson and has the following committee members:
James Dornan MSP (SNP) as vice-convener; Alison Johnstone (Green Party); Jim Hume MSP (Liberal Democrats); David Stewart MSP (Labour Party); and Liz Smith MSP (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party).
Group secretary Elizabeth Lumsden, Scotland community safety manager for RoSPA - a charity that has been at the heart of accident prevention for nearly 100 years - said:
“It is an exciting opportunity to have accident prevention taken seriously at this level, and we hope it will make a real difference to the lives of people across Scotland.
“Accidents are an extremely important issue for all the community, covering everything from burns to falls, road crashes, and occupational injuries. This group has the potential to raise a huge number of concerns about accidents, which could be prevented through simple measures like education and awareness campaigns.
This group is for all members of the public to get involved with, so we are encouraging people to let us know what topics they think should be a priority.”
 MSP Clare Adamson said:
“I am delighted to be hosting the inaugural meeting of the Cross Party Group on Accident Prevention and Safety Awareness during Child Safety Week. We have a particular problem in Scotland, especially in economically disadvantaged areas, with too many of our citizens being injured in preventable accidents.
The new Cross Party Group ensures that we will be able to shine a light on these issues in parliament for the first time and I look forward to the opportunity, in this group, to promote collaborative working in this very important area.”
The Cross Party Group on Accident Prevention and Safety Awareness holds its inaugural meeting in Committee Room 4 of the Scottish Parliament on June 26 from 1pm to 3pm. Further meetings take place on September 25, November 27 and January 29 next year.
For availability on attending a Cross Party Group meeting or to raise future discussion topics, email Elizabeth Lumsden at: elumsden@rospa.com
Source: RoSPA
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