John Michael

1
John Michael

• Director of Borough Services
• Ballymoney Borough Council

2
Why are here we?

• home accidents are a major cause of death and
  injury
• accidents cost money and cause hardship and
  suffering
• prevention is better than cure
• we are INVESTING for HEALTH
• that Strategy published in March 2002
  identified the need to reduce accidental injuries
  and deaths, and gave a commitment to develop a
  HOME ACCIDENT PREVENTION STRATEGY

3
Home Accident Prevention Strategy
Action Plan 2004-2009

• developed by an inter-sectoral Working Group,
  chaired by RoSPA and comprising Government
  Departments, Health Promotion Agency, Health
  Social Service Boards and Trusts, NI Fire
  Brigade, District Councils, the Voluntary Sector
• issued January 2005, with DHSSPS providing some
  funding for implementation
• HAP Strategy AIM To reduce the number of
  accidental deaths and injuries in the home.

4
HAP Strategy Roadmap - TARGETS

• contribute to Investing for Health targets
• (1) reduce accident death rate by at least 1/5
  and
• (2) reduce accident serious injury rate by at
  least 1/10
• by reducing
• (1) the death rate from home accidents by 15
• (2) injuries requiring hospital admission by
  30
• (3) injuries to children requiring hospital
  admission by 20
• (4) poisonings requiring hospital admission
  by 18
• (5) falls in older people requiring hospital
  admission by 25
• (6) injuries from accidental fires by 10

5
How are the HAP Strategy targets
to be achieved?

• 14 point Action Plan
• specific organizations given specific tasks
• partner organizations to be accountable to the
  Ministerial Group on Public Health via a
  multi-agency Home Accident Prevention Strategy
  Implementation Group
• DHSSPS, HPA, NIHE, NIFRS, HSE, CCEA, Health
  Boards, NILGA, with RoSPA chairing the Group.

6
HAP Strategy ACTION PLAN

• ACTION 5 Local councils in exercising their
  discretionary powers to promote safety in the
  home, will have regard to the Home Accident
  Prevention Strategy and the policies and
  programmes developed by Investing for Health
  Partnerships.
• In order to assist Councils, the CEHOG Consumer
  Protection Sub-Group prepared a paper for the
  Chief Environmental Health Officers Group setting
  out
• The Role of District Councils in Home Accident
  Prevention.

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The Role of District Councils in Home
Accident Prevention

• Recommendations were made and accepted re.
• mandatory duty
• local home accident prevention strategies
• resources
• liaison arrangements
• training
• best practice

8
Partnership in practice

• HAP Ballymoney
• Hazard House
• Home Safety Officer
• So why are we here?
• What will we learn?
• What will we put into practice?
• How will we make a difference?
• make our contribution, in partnership, to reduce
  home accidents in the Northern Investing for
  Health area?