About the scheme, how to refer families, what happens next.
About the Home Safety Scheme
Unintentional injuries in the home are a leading cause of death and a major cause of ill health and serious disability among children under 5.
Bristol's Home Safety Scheme (HSS) aims to reduce risk of injury to children under 5 by providing and installing safety equipment in the homes of eligible families.
Families are eligible for the HSS if they:
- live in Bristol, and
- have at least one child under 5, and
- receive means tested benefits such as:
- Universal Credit
- Housing Benefit
- Council Tax Reduction
- Child Tax Credit
- Pension Credit
Assess a family's home safety
Health visitors and community nursery nurses (CNN) do a home safety assessment at any of their 5 reviews just before and after a baby is born. These reviews are when the baby:
- is about to be born
- has just been born
- is 6 to 8 weeks old
- is 1 year old
- is 2 to 2.5 years old
If a baby or child aged 5 or under goes to hospital because of an accidental injury in the home, the health visiting response team can do a home safety assessment. The parents or carers must consent to this assessment, unless the hospital staff have concerns about the baby or child's safety. If the family is assessed as needing home safety equipment and they're eligible for the scheme, the health visitor or CNN can refer them to the HSS using the HSS referral form.
Refer a family to the Home Safety Scheme (HSS)
When you fill in the referral form, make sure you include information about any safeguarding issues such as:
- domestic violence
- damp or uneven flooring
This informs the home safety equipment installation risk assessment.
Refer a family to the Home Safety Scheme
What happens next
When we get the referral form, we'll contact the family to book the home safety equipment installation appointment.
If no one's at home when we arrive for the appointment, we'll contact the family 2 more times to arrange another appointment.
If we cannot get into the property to install the equipment after 3 attempts, we'll email the health visitor or CNN to tell them.