Learning skills to prevent cot deaths
Nursery staff are trained in life-saving procedures
09.10.2018 A new project has helped Renfrewshire nursery staff learn essential skills to prevent cot death.
Staff at the Stepping Stones Nursery in Johnstone were invited to take part in a Safe Sleep Education Session with Renfrew volunteer Liz Miller.
The vital project, funded by the Scottish Cot Death Trust, delivers free training to a range of professional and teaches them effective ways to reduce the risk of Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI).
Liz became part of the project after her 11-week-old daughter Josephine died in her arms, back in March 1991.
Now she travels around the country to deliver training and help prevent the same tragedy from happening to other families.
As part of the sessions at Stepping Stone, Liz shared the importance of safe sleeping spaces, car seats and temperature.
Staff, who attended the evening class, said that the night was “extremely informative”.
Nursery owner and manager Lorna Bradley told the Express: “It was a very good evening, full of important information.
“We have 38 children that we look after and nine babies that sleep at the nursery.
“The training is so important and is recommended by government inspectors.”
Since the Back to Sleep campaigns of the late 1980s and early 1990s numbers of SUDI have drastically reduced.
However, a baby still dies suddenly and unexpectedly every nine days in Scotland.
The Scottish Cot Death Trust was launched 35 years ago and supports families affected by the sudden and unexpected death of an infant or child of pre-school age.
Lorna said: “Liz was fantastic, speaking from her personal experience with cot death.
“She’s had lots of practice and we are looking forward to pass on what we learned to the parents.”