Hansard

I will be brief—for no other reason than that Alex Neil has used up half the time for my speech.

I welcome this debate about safety at home, on the roads and in the community. I was taken aback when I discovered that one third of accidents happen in the home. I appreciate that the motion is not only about children, but I have found some interesting information in the NHS information and statistics division figures for last year. Accidental deaths among children under the age of 15 have fallen. In 1980, there were 56 deaths in the home; in 1997, there were 10. In 1980, there were 65 deaths on the road; in 1997, there were 24. In 1980, there were 40 deaths in other types of accident; in 1997, there were 14. We must welcome that downward trend in all three categories—home, road and other accidents. However, I am sure that we would all agree that one death is still one death too many.

In the road accidents and other accidents categories, the figures for emergency hospital admissions for children under the age of 15 have gone down. However, it is concerning that, in the home accidents category, the figures have gone up—from 4,076 in 1981 to 5,271 in 1997.

The figures for adults show a reduction in the number of deaths from accidents—a total of 2,312 in 1980 and 1,413 in 1997. However, although the number of deaths is down in all three categories of accident, it is startling to note that emergency hospital admissions due to home accidents have doubled over the same period, rising from around 11,000 to almost 22,000. Therefore, although there are fewer deaths, the number of accidents in the home has doubled. That is a cause for serious concern.

The motion

"acknowledges the importance of creating a central database of information relevant to home safety".

I assume that that acknowledges the excellent information, broken down into categories, provided by the information and statistics division. Having heard Cathy Jamieson speak, I have no doubt that there is scope for further information and for a further breakdown of that information. It is only by identifying the causes of accidents that we can make progress with—and I never thought that I would hear myself saying the word—a strategy, review or whatever. The biggest single cause of accidents in the home is human error, and I doubt that Malcolm Chisholm—even with the greatest of Christmas spirit—can legislate for human error.

As Cathy Jamieson said, specific attention should be paid to the elderly, as their environment undoubtedly becomes more hazardous as they become frailer and their senses become impaired. Quite often elderly people have worn carpets and poor lighting and they often try to do things that they are no longer fit to do. Perhaps the training of home helps and care workers could include looking out for potential hazards in elderly people's homes. The good news about home accidents is that the vast majority of them are preventable.

I congratulate Northern constabulary, Highland Council and Highland Health Board on working together to develop a strategy to reduce the tragic number of road deaths and accidents in the Highlands. By working together, the three organisations intend, from January, to raise awareness and to help to educate children. I hope that East Ayrshire Council will also adopt that joined-up approach.