Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents
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[edit] RoSPA - What It Is, What It Does
RoSPA’s mission: "To save lives and reduce injuries”
The familiar initials 'RoSPA' stand for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents - one of the world's leading safety organisations, which has now been in existence for 90 years.
RoSPA's accident prevention activities range far and wide. From safety on the road, at work, in the home, at leisure, on and in the water to safety education for the young.
There is a growing volume of legislation in the UK designed to promote safety. Representatives of official bodies involved in these fields serve on RoSPA committees, while the Society itself is represented on Government committees, those of the British Standards Institution, and of research and educational bodies in Europe as well as the UK.
Despite its official status, RoSPA is a completely independent professional body and registered charity. It draws on a wealth of voluntary expertise available to it through its national committees. To meet an annual budget of £8 million, RoSPA's income is derived largely from subscriptions, the sale of products and the provision of services - notably consultancy and training. The Government also makes grants towards specific areas of RoSPA's activities.
Governing RoSPA is an executive committee of experts whose part-time service is given free. The Chief Executive is the salaried chief of staff and is supported by approximately 130 employees, located in the head office in Birmingham and at regional offices.
The Society also has the backing of its members – businesses, organisations and individuals – who are dedicated to reducing accidents and in return enjoy RoSPA’s support in their own areas of work.
Organised accident prevention work dates from 1916. In that year, the London 'Safety First' Council came into being through the efforts of the operating manager of the London General Omnibus Company. Now known as the London Accident Prevention Council, the Council is still active, but, as the work of accident prevention spread geographically and into other leisure and occupational activities, a comprehensive safety organisation was established - eventually adopting the title of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents in 1941.
The Society has since then enjoyed royal support: its first patron was King George VI, followed by today's patron Her Majesty the Queen. The Duke of Edinburgh accepted the presidency for three years, which included RoSPA's Golden Jubilee Year (1966). Baroness Gibson of Market Rasen became RoSPA's current President in 2005.
Organisation The Society is organised in three divisions - Operations, Communications and Finance and Administration.
Road Safety Road accidents kill around 3,200 people every year in Great Britain. Total road casualties are about 270,000.
RoSPA is tackling this problem in a number of ways. It campaigned actively for the compulsory wearing of seatbelts, and it was one of the Society's past presidents, Lord Nugent of Guildford, who successfully tabled the amendment on seatbelt legislation for inclusion in the Transport Bill. RoSPA led the successful campaign to ban the use of hand-held mobile phones while driving.
Between one third and a quarter of deaths on Britain’s roads are estimated to involve people who are at work. RoSPA pioneered the concept of work-related road safety. Managing occupational road risk - MORR™ – should now been an integral part of any business or organisation’s health and safety system. RoSPA’s Driver and Fleet Solutions team helps with this, providing the answers and products employers need to ensure the safety of employees who drive as part of their job. Defensive driving courses are organised for companies and individuals, and thousands of good professional drivers are encouraged through RoSPA's National Safe Driving Awards.
The Society aims to improve driver and rider behaviour and works closely with the Department for Transport to achieve this. It often undertakes special projects to provide new educational tools which can benefit all types of road user. All drivers can join the RoSPA Advanced Drivers and Riders Association and take a graded, advanced driving test if they wish. It is the only advanced driving organisation which requires regular retesting of its members.
The Society also provides advice and training for local authority road safety officers and engineers and works to improve cyclist training.
"Care on the Road" is RoSPA's bi-monthly newspaper covering all aspects of road safety.
Home Safety
Home accidents are the hidden problem of the safety world. Every year, they kill about 4,000 people and cause a further 2.8 million people to seek hospital treatment for injuries. About a million injury victims are children.
RoSPA is helping prevent home accidents by alerting people to danger spots in the home through publicity and education. It assists and advises all local government bodies that promote home safety. A national home safety conference is held annually to allow experts to exchange views and to promote discussion. The Society is also developing services and projects so that it can work more closely on home injury prevention with communities and individuals.
A growing amount of work is being done within the National Health Service to promote accident prevention and RoSPA is developing its services in this area.
Leisure Safety
Around three million people go to hospital each year after accidents while out and about enjoying themselves. There are more than 600 water-related fatalities each year with around 300 of these drowning at inland water sites.
Adventurous leisure pursuits are becoming increasingly popular. RoSPA is developing closer links with sporting and other organisations in an effort to help manage the risks involved, while supporting the individual’s right to take risks on their owns terms.
RoSPA promotes training and education in water and leisure safety and plays a leading role in the National Water Safety Forum. Consultancy and training is undertaken for local authorities to enable them to deal with specific hazards.
The Society inspects hundreds of children’s playgrounds each year, working to the maxim that play areas should be “as safe as necessary, not as safe as possible”. If playgrounds become too safe, they will loose their educational value and children will not use them. They will stray to more dangerous places seeking thrills.
"Staying Alive" magazine, published by RoSPA, covers home and water and leisure safety.
Occupational Safety and Health
More than 200 people die each year from notifiable work-related accidents – and 2,000 die from past exposure to asbestos. A further one million people suffer some form of work-related injury and two million from work-related health damage.
RoSPA combats this tragic toll through education, providing consultancy services, training schemes and specialist conferences. Courses are held at RoSPA or on companies' own premises. These range from skills training to specialist health and safety qualifications. RoSPA also campaigns on key issues such as director leadership and accident investigation to help raise standards of health and safety management. The Society works to assist employers to help employees remain safe when they are away from work.
Awards are made to businesses and organisations which have achieved outstanding successes in workplace health and safety. The RoSPA Occupational Safety and Health Congress and Awards are held annually at the National Exhibition Centre, near Birmingham, alongside the Safety and Health Expo event. A RoSPA congress, exhibition and awards ceremony is also held in Scotland.
Three specialist monthly journals are published on occupational safety and health topics, and there is a wide range of resources available to help, including posters, publications and videos.
Safety and Risk Education
Education is central to RoSPA’s mission. Risk and safety are concepts which are fundamental to promoting the safety of children and young people. The Society supports those who work with children and young people to help them to understand how to keep themselves and others safe, wherever they are.
The Society supports teachers and other practitioners with resources, training and information on its website. The journal Safety Education is produced each term for nationwide distribution to schools. RoSPA members also receive the Safety Education e-bulletin with updates on legislation, news of meetings and opportunities to take part in consultations.
RoSPA co-ordinates and manages a voluntary code of 'best/good' practice for LASER (Learning About Safety by Experiencing Risk) schemes and events throughout England, but also provides support for schemes across the UK. There are 11 permanent LASER centres in the UK and around 300 annual events throughout England. They concentrate on 'learning by doing' and reach around 250,000 children a year. The centres work with a wide range of groups, including the elderly and people with learning and physical disabilities. RoSPA’s LASER accreditation programme actively encourages schemes to construct scenarios which allow learners to put in to practice their safety knowledge. More information can be found at [1] .
To learn more about RoSPA’s work in helping to save lives and reduce injuries, or for specific advice on accident prevention problems or activities, ring 0121 248-2000, contact [2] or visit RoSPA’s award-winning website www.rospa.com .
