RoSPA presents first awards for home safety

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents has presented its first awards to people whose work contributes to saving lives and reducing injuries in the home.

Ashley Martin, Health Improvement Manager for Peterborough City Council and Peterborough Primary Care Trust, and Denise Kendrick, Professor of Primary Care Research at the University of Nottingham’s Institute of Clinical Research, have both been honoured with RoSPA Distinguished Service Awards for Home Safety.

Ashley Martin (pictured) was presented with his award at RoSPA’s National Home Safety Congress in Blackpool last week.

He joined Peterborough City Council in 1986 as Home Safety Officer and, since 2001, has worked in a jointly-funded post for the council and Peterborough Primary Care Trust.

Last year, he became Health Improvement Manager for a joint service, Health Promotion Peterborough, which works across a range of public health issues, including accident prevention. The service includes the delivery of interactive safety education to 54 primary schools in Peterborough, reaching 2,000 pupils each year.

Ashley has had a number of national roles, including chairman of the Institute of Home Safety, a position he held for 10 years, and chairman of the National Home and Leisure Safety Committee. He was also part of the Accidental Injury Task Force reporting to the Chief Medical Officer on strategies to meet national accident prevention targets.

Denise Kendrick, who has been Professor of Primary Care Research at the University of Nottingham’s Institute of Clinical Research since January, qualified as a doctor in 1984. She trained in general practice and public health medicine and also worked in community child health before starting her academic career.

Her research focuses on injury epidemiology and prevention, and she is involved with the Nottinghamshire Avoidable Injury Group in trying to achieve the practical implementation of research findings.

Among her recent work has been an evaluation of thermostatic mixing valves, which reduce the temperature of bath water to prevent scalds. She is currently leading a five-year research programme, funded by a £2 million grant from the National Institute for Health Research, which aims to lead to a better understanding of how falls, poisoning and thermal injuries can be prevented in the homes of pre-school children.

Denise also still works as a GP in Nottingham.

Her award was collected by one of her colleagues - Jane Stewart, a Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham – at RoSPA’s National Home Safety Congress.