FUNDING the Safe Drive Stay Alive project would save money in the long-run, according to one of the team's volunteers.

Elaine Blackwood, an A&E nurse involved in the programme, has argued that keeping the vital road safety programme will not only prevent more accidents among young people but will help ease burden on hospital staff.

According to the Central Safe Drive group, the cost of one road death in Scotland is well into the millions, whereas the Safe Drive Stay Alive show they organise costs £23,000 a year.

Since the project was launched there has been a decline in road deaths, as well as injuries from road traffic collisions.

However, the future of the project remains in doubt due to budget cuts, with little or no funding coming from local authorities or central government.

Nevertheless, Elaine and the rest of the group are hoping those in charge of the purse strings will see that funding the show is as much a financial decision as it is a moral one.

She said: "It will be such a shame if we are not able to continue, but the funding aspect is a struggle.

"We do understand the constraints councils are facing but for us to raise all that money ourselves would mean us trying to organise some kind of event every weekend, or at least a few weekends a month.

"But if you look at what happens during an incident. Each patient could require around 10-12 members of staff from emergency treatment alone.

"And that's not including being transferred to a ward and any physiotherapy and care after that, so the financial implications from the NHS is huge."

Melanie Mitchell, treasurer for the Central Safe Drive, told the Advertiser that there is an estimated cost of £1.9million for every road death in Scotland with an even higher cost for a lifetime of round-the-clock care.

She added: "The education of our young people makes financial sense as well as avoiding the devastation to families that occurs when a loved one is involved in a road collision."

Safe Drive Stay Alive is currently running its tenth consecutive year at the Macrobert Arts Centre, with 40,000 young people in central Scotland having now seen the show and heard its message.

The show itself details the harrowing experience of emergency care workers – an almost daily event for those in Elaine's profession.

She said: "I've worked in A&E for 18 years, first at St John's and then in Stirling.

"And when I came to Stirling, one of the first things I notice was there were lots of injuries coming in from road traffic collisions.

"They were not just lumps, scratches and bruises. They were life-changing injuries.

"Dealing with patients is difficult enough but speaking with relatives, especially if there has been a fatality, is really, really hard.

"Like other members of the Safe Drive team, there's not a lot of time for us to process what we have seen and dealt with during a 12 hour a shift. That all comes later.

"We've all cried bucket-loads of tears and we all take our work home.

"It is true that every time I hear an emergency call from a road traffic collision is coming through, I wonder if it's a member of my family."

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