Safety Book Targets Children In Hospital

Young patients at the Sick Kids Hospital in Edinburgh are to be given a new book warning them about dangers in the home.

They will be handed out to children who are admitted to A&E in the hope the book can help to educate them on home accidents, and prevent them returning to hospital in the future with a home-related injury.

Last year more than 2,000 children were taken to hospital after being hurt at home. Almost 900 had fallen, and over 500 had been poisoned. The book deals with both issues, as well as looking at the dangers of looped blind cords, which have been known to strangle young children.

Christie Burnett, community safety development officer for RoSPA Scotland, said: "The majority of accidents happen in the home, and while some will be minor many can be life-changing, such as burns and poisoning - and some can even lead to death.

"In the vast majority of cases the accident will be completely avoidable. We hope that by introducing The Birthday Party we can target this high-risk age group and prevent them heading back to hospital due to a home-related accident."

Author Linda Strachan, known for the bestselling Hamish McHaggis books, has written a story which follows Jamie and his friends as they prepare safely for a birthday party, including making and decorating cakes, putting on costumes and tidying up after themselves.

Amanda Balloch, play assistant at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh, said: "They are great little books - I loved the illustrations. It will be nice to hand them out to help keep children safe at home this winter

"At this time of year, we can see lots of children passing through the department each day and hopefully, The Birthday Party will help in ensuring children aren’t returning to hospital with an injury that could have been prevented at home."