RoSPA welcomes new product safety office

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has welcomed the Government’s announcement of the Office for Product Safety and Standards, in response to calls for an improved approach to product safety in the UK.

The new body has been set up to provide a central technical and scientific resource to support local authorities and businesses, and was created in response to a report from the Working Group on Product Recalls and Safety, of which RoSPA is a part.

Errol Taylor, RoSPA chief executive and member of the Working Group, said: “RoSPA advocates an evidence-based, cross-industry approach in its accident prevention work, and we are pleased to see the creation of a body that engenders this ethos.

“In support of this, data collection on product safety issues and subsequent injuries must be improved, and we are delighted to see that the Government has recognised this as part of its recommendations, stating that 'systematic and sustainable ways to capture and share data and intelligence should be established and agreed by relevant parties'.

“We hope that the new body, and the Government’s other recommendations, will lead to better co-ordination and central support and leadership for major product safety issues.”

RoSPA has worked extensively on the issue of product safety and recalls, and has been part of the group which produced PAS 7100 – the code of practice for recalls.

The charity has also been working with the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) to improve data collection on injuries, recently helping the NHS to adopt the Emergency Care Data Set, which it is hoped will provide a better understanding of the causes of injuries to people attending A&E departments.