Scottish Government
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Protecting children
Community Safety Minister, Fergus Ewing, has announced a Scottish Government funded campaign to warn families about the dangers of blind cords.
Free-hanging, looped blind cords can be dangerous for young children who can find themselves entangled in the cord - in extreme cases leading to death by strangulation.
The campaign is being run by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents in Scotland (RoSPA). They will work with Strathclyde Fire and Rescue, North Lanarkshire Council and the Safer Homes project to distribute safety leaflets and cleats, around which blind cords can be tied, to families with young children in North Lanarkshire. Across Scotland, leaflets will also be distributed by Home Safety Scotland.
The campaign has the support of the parents of Muireann McLaughlin, who tragically died at her home in Menstrie in February 2008.
Welcoming the information campaign, Mr Ewing said:
"It is a sad fact that many people are unaware of the dangers to children from free-hanging blind cords. It is therefore imperative that we do what we can to raise awareness of the dangers and help prevent other families from facing the kind of anguish experienced by Muireann's parents.
"I am therefore delighted to support this very practical campaign. By telling people - especially parents - about the risks, they can decide what they need to do to reduce those risks to their children.
"I am grateful for the support of all the agencies involved in this campaign - a great example of agencies coming together to work towards a safer, stronger Scotland."
The six month campaign will involve the distribution of up to 10,000 information leaflets across Scotland. These give information about the dangers of blind cords and ways of reducing the risk.
In addition, the campaign will involve the pilot distribution of about 2000 cleats with the leaflets, initially in North Lanarkshire. These cleats are for attaching to an adjacent wall to secure blinds out of reach of children and will come ready to fit to the wall with sticky pads. The campaign will be evaluated at the end of the six months with the option of further roll out of the cleats and leaflets dependent on the results of that evaluation.
The Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) into Muireann McLaughlin's death found that her parents were unaware of the risks. In his report, Sheriff David Mackie criticised the general lack of awareness and called for a public information campaign to highlight the risks.
