Born in 1946 and brought up in Cupar, Fife, I was educated at the local school - 
Stewart Stevenson MSP and Gillian Martin MSP have backed a new campaign aimed at preventing avoidable accidents in the home to ease pressure on the NHS during the Covid-19 outbreak.
As the majority of Scots stay at home, in line with Government guidance, it is vital that people take precautions to create a safe home environment and avoid accidental injury.
The new campaign – "Accident Free, Avoid A&E" – led by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), highlights that more accidents happen in the home than anywhere else.
The campaign’s central message emphasises the need to reduce preventable accidents and help frontline health services – Prevent accidents, Protect your family, Help the NHS.
RoSPA hopes to draw attention to some common dangers in the home. For example, trampolines are one of the most frequent causes of A&E attendances - posing a particular risk to children.
Mr Stevenson noted the practical information outlined by the campaign - with guidance for older people and children, tips for setting up a safe workspace, DIY risks and fire safety advice amongst other things.
The MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Stewart Stevenson, said:
“The most important thing we can do to help our NHS right now is stay at home.
“But as we adopt to this new way of living during the outbreak, we must be particularly careful to avoid injury that will place undue pressure on our public health service at a time when it is faced with a global health crisis.
“Small steps can prevent accidents in the home and this will enable crucial frontline health workers to deal with an influx of patients during the pandemic.
“All too often, the safety community hears that parents or carers were unaware of some of the steps we can all take to keep our homes safe. RoSPA’s new campaign provides a simple and useful resource for creating a safe home environment.”
“But as we adopt to this new way of living during the outbreak, we must be particularly careful to avoid injury that will place undue pressure on our public health service at a time when it is faced with a global health crisis.
“Small steps can prevent accidents in the home and this will enable crucial frontline health workers to deal with an influx of patients during the pandemic.
“All too often, the safety community hears that parents or carers were unaware of some of the steps we can all take to keep our homes safe. RoSPA’s new campaign provides a simple and useful resource for creating a safe home environment.”
Commenting, Gillian Martin MSP added:
“Ensuring that the NHS has the capacity to treat those who need it most will be critical as we navigate one of the most challenging periods in living memory.
“Now, more than ever, as more of us are at home, a proactive approach to safety will help our amazing NHS as they fight to overcome this coronavirus.
“Through individual responsibility and collective effort, we will beat this.”
“Now, more than ever, as more of us are at home, a proactive approach to safety will help our amazing NHS as they fight to overcome this coronavirus.
“Through individual responsibility and collective effort, we will beat this.”
Elizabeth Lumsden, Community Safety Manager at RoSPA Scotland, said:
"As part of its campaign, RoSPA has compiled a useful list of safety tips and wellbeing suggestions which can be accessed at www.rospa.com/AccidentFree.
"There is some potentially invaluable information such as tips for older people to avoid falls and exercises that people can do so they are able to get up from a fall if they are on their own.
"There is a wealth of information available from organisations across the safety community. We are urging people to be safety conscious. Our NHS does so much to support us - we must support it in return."
"There is some potentially invaluable information such as tips for older people to avoid falls and exercises that people can do so they are able to get up from a fall if they are on their own.
"There is a wealth of information available from organisations across the safety community. We are urging people to be safety conscious. Our NHS does so much to support us - we must support it in return."
