A SERVICE to prevent Inverclyde’s children being hospitalised by household accidents has been praised by a leading charity.

The district is the first in Scotland to now extend the Child Home Safety Equipment Service.

A total of 112 families in the area benefited from the service in its first year, being given equipment and advice on how to improve the safety of their kids at home.

Jen Foley, project support officer for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents Scotland (RoSPA), said: “We piloted Scotland’s Home Safety Equipment Service in a number of local authority areas across Scotland and have been delighted with the performance of the scheme in Inverclyde. “It has been well-managed, well-executed and everyone involved has been enthusiastic and engaged from the outset.

“This is reflected in the terrific results in Inverclyde in terms of the target number of families reached, family satisfaction with the fitted home-safety equipment and the strong local partnership working which has helped to deliver these results.” The project also allowed people working routinely with children and families to undergo specialist training to increase their awareness of home injuries involving young children and their prevention.

Inverclyde was the only scheme to carry out a customer feedback questionnaire and is the only area aiming to continue the project.

Council leader Stephen McCabe, who chairs the Inverclyde Alliance community planning partnership, said: “It is a sobering thought that every year in the UK around a million children — nearly half under the age of five — end up in accident and emergency.

“Children from vulnerable families and areas of multiple deprivation are more likely than children from affluent families to end up in hospital so it is important we do as much as we can to prevent accidents happening in the first place.” The initiative involves a range of organisations, including the area’s largest housing association, River Clyde Homes (RCH).

Jane Wallace, extra care manager at RCH, said: “We are delighted to support this Child Home Safety initiative which has been very successful.

“We appreciated the opportunity to support this worthwhile initiative and are keen to consider similar activities which our customers benefit from.”