Safe as Houses (Under 5s) Project

Aim of Project

The Safe as Houses (Under-5s) Project seeks to provide a home safety risk assessment and advice service to parents or full-time carers of pre-school age children to mitigate against hazards in the home that may result in an unintentional injury.
In addition, to provide home safety equipment where a need is identified, and the individual is unable to meet this cost.
In line with Lanarkshire Community Safety Partnership’s Unintentional Injuries Priority, the Safe as Houses (Home Safety) Project aims to:

1) Provide a ‘pro-active approach directed towards reducing falls among pre-school aged children and
2) Contribute to reducing the risk of unintentional injuries within the home environment.

These aims will be achieved by using a person-centred delivery approach to establish client needs and identify existing and possible future hazards within the home and to mitigate or entirely remove the identified hazards. Clients will be identified through referrals from partner agencies.
Following home visit clients will have hazards mitigated or removed, keeping them safer, reducing the likelihood of injury or harm, and reduce the severity of injury where injury occurs..

Background

The Lanarkshire Care and Repair Service has extensive experience delivering home safety and security services throughout South Lanarkshire. It has successfully undertaken home safety and home security projects aimed at older people, disabled people, victims of crime, and victims of domestic abuse and assault, funded through the Community Safety Partnership, to deliver safety services free to residents in South Lanarkshire.
During the home visits, clients are offered a home safety survey where advice is given regarding avoidable accidents within the home and some practical assistance is offered.

Unintentional Injuries at Home

Research evidence by the Public Health Services, identifies that older people of pensionable age and young people under five years are at greatest risk of unintentional injury in the home environment. Consistently, the PHS reports that falls and poisonings at home are the single most common reason for hospitalisation for hospitalisation among the under-fives. In relation to under-fives it recommends, generic home safety advice to parents to prevent injury or harm, hospitalisation, and death through accidents occurring within the home environment.

South Lanarkshire CSP has prioritised over 65-year-olds and under-fives as particular groups at risk of unintentional injury at home. This project seeks to undertake work to prevent accidents and injury the home environment among pre-school aged children in relation to the following:

1) Broken bones, concussion, internal injuries – trips and falls
2) Electric shock, electrocution – electricity
3) Burns, smoke inhalation – fire
4) Drowning/flooding/scalding – water
5) Medication, cleaning equipment – poisoning
6) Windows & stairs – falls from height
7) Trailing cords – strangulation/ entrapment

Project Proposal

The Unintentional Injuries Group, via Care and Repair, propose to undertake a project focusing on home safety among pre-school age children.
To ensure that the service is directed where it’s needed most and is most effective, referrals may be received via:
1) Partner agencies, providing information of the project and signposting people to it if they are assessed as having children vulnerable to unintentional injury and who are unable to meet the costs of improving safety themselves.
2) Proactive targeted work in areas where there is greater deprivation or disadvantage. These would be targeted with information about eligibility and advice on how to access the Service.

During visits clients will be made aware of other services available that could be of help to them and assisted to make contact if other help  is required, signpost them to home safety advice Apps, and will also be provided with some basic home safety prevention and treatment guidance (e.g. RoSPA height charts and SCSN interactive map).
During the home visit a home safety survey will take place where hazards are identified. Following the survey, advice will be given the client about how to mitigate or remove the hazards or an offer will be made to carry out this work on their behalf where it is assessed they are unable to undertake this themselves.
Work to eliminate or mitigate hazards will include:
1) Verbal advice
2) Installation of child safety equipment as appropriate and free of charge
4) Relocation of furniture and mats/rugs
5) Removal of (dangerous) hazards identified
6) Referrals to appropriate agencies for further assistance

Referral route:

Completed Home Safety Equipment referral and completed HS10 consent form available from the website should be forwarded to: referrals@careandrepair-lanarkshire.co.uk