The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has launched its #LittleThings campaign, aiming to raise awareness of the small changes that people can make to avoid minor accidents over the festive period.
The charity, which has been at the heart of accident prevention both in the UK and around the world for nearly 100 years, is urging people to join in with the campaign, which began on Sunday (14th December) and is running for the 12 days leading up to Christmas Day.
The campaign is encouraging people to think ahead and share tips on the little things that can have a big impact on people’s happiness and that of their loved ones during the festive period, with the end goal being fewer minor incidents and reduced pressure on the emergency services this Christmas. It is hoped that this can be achieved through as many people as possible sharing their tips for the prevention of accidents.
Those who wish to contribute their safety tips can do this in many ways. The campaign is being rolled out across the charity’s website – www.rospa.com/littlethings – and is running with the hashtag #LittleThings on Facebook and Twitter. The latter will be updated daily with the best ideas sent in by the public to help prevent minor accidents.
Tom Mullarkey, Chief Executive of RoSPA, said: “Accidents are the biggest preventable cause of death for most of our lives – yet they’re often caused by the littlest things. Thankfully, for all of the misery and heartache caused by accidents big and small, more often than not they could have been prevented by a little thing, like forward planning or knowledge.
“In the 12 days leading up to Christmas Day, when we know people are going to be busy with lots of other things, we’re sharing some ideas for little things that can make a big difference, but we’d like to hear from others too – from mums, dads, grandparents, carers, employers and anyone else who has a top tip.
“Together, all our little things really can make a big difference – not just in individual lives, but for the country as a whole.”
It is hoped that through this campaign, the pressure can be eased on the country’s accident and emergency (A&E) departments, whose struggles have been widely reported in recent weeks. Latest figures have revealed that the number of people who visited A&E during the week commencing 1st December had increased by 30,000 for the same week the year before – a total of 436,000 visits – and more people needed to be admitted to hospital after going to A&E. This indicates that the cases facing A&E staff are more complex and taking more time to deal with.
Mullarkey continued: “Perhaps nowhere is the burden of accidents felt more keenly than in our A&E departments, which are busy with patients who have suffered accidents. While our hard-working doctors and nurses do their best patching us up, we can all play a role in preventing accidents happening in the first place. What better Christmas present to give the NHS.”