SAFed Health and Safety Passport Scheme

Module 8 — Accident, First Aid and reporting procedures

8.1            Introduction

This document forms one of a series of modules on various health and safety subjects that comprise the examinable material considered necessary for the award of the SAFed Health and Safety Passport.

When you have studied this module you should have acquired sufficient knowledge to be able to answer the questions detailed at the end of the module.  Upon satisfactory completion of all modules, you will be eligible to undertake the final assessment for the award of the SAFed Health and Safety Passport.

The SAFed Health and Safety Passport is issued to Engineer Surveyors by the Health and Safety Manager of their employing company upon satisfactory completion of the Safety Passport final assessment.

The award of the SAFed Health and Safety Passport provides evidence that the holder of the Passport has the appropriate knowledge and awareness in health and safety matters considered necessary for an Engineer Surveyor to undertake the duties for which they are authorised by their employing company.

The passport is valid for a maximum of three years.

8.2       Key Objectives

Having read this module you should be aware of:

·         The legal requirement to report accidents, however trivial, to your own company and if applicable, the site at which you are working at the time.  This action will raise awareness of a potential problem and could prevent a more serious accident occurring at a later date.

·         The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) which covers certain types of more serious accidents.

·         The first aid facilities which should be in place at both your own and third party sites and the need to inform visitors of these facilities when working on site.

·         The difference between a First-Aider and an appointed person.

8.3       Legal Commentary

The health and safety laws, which cover this module, are:

·         Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR95)

·         Health & Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981

8.4            Discussion

Most of the information in the other modules has been mainly about prevention.  But sometimes things do go wrong.  If someone has an accident or falls ill at work, it is important to take care of them straight away and make any dangerous condition that may have caused the accident or illness safe.

First aid means treating minor injuries at work and giving immediate attention to more serious casualties until professional help is available.

Reporting accidents and ill health at work is a legal requirement.  The enforcing authorities use the information to assess the big picture of where and what type of injuries, ill health and accidental losses are occurring, and to advise on preventative measures.

It is important that the guidelines for reporting of accidents are adhered to, to enable this the accident can be reported by phone, fax, internet, e-mail or post.

Workers who travel from site to site or who are employed at third party sites are referred to, as ‘peripatetic’ by the H.S.E. Engineer Surveyors are classified in this way.

It is therefore extremely important that they have adequate instruction on site-specific issues as part of their induction on each site.  This should take place before they commence any inspection, as they are statistically more likely to have an accident than another person who is familiar with the site and its hazards.

Whilst it is the responsibility of the Third Party site occupier to inform all visitors of the hazards that they may encounter, it is the Engineer Surveyors’ responsibility to assess the risks which are present during the performance of their particular task.

To assist in the prevention of accidents, the Engineer Surveyor must wear the correct personal protection equipment as prescribed in both the site regulations and risk assessments for the particular task.

Companies should hold an investigation into any accident, incident or near miss that occurs on their site. It is the duty of the Engineer Surveyor to report to the site personnel any incident, which they consider unsafe whilst on the site.

8.5            Accidents

Any employer, under Health & Safety Law, is required to make the workplace safe and without risks to health. Unfortunately, despite the most rigorous planning, accidents still happen.

In order to comply with legal obligations, we are all required to carry out certain actions when accidents occur.

8.5.1            Accident Reporting

Any accidental injury you receive while at work must be reported promptly to your supervisor or line manager.

If you are working on a client’s premises you must inform the nominated person (this will normally be the person acting as ‘chaperone/contact but Health & Safety information provided upon entry to the clients promises may specify otherwise).

A written factual account of the incident has to be made in an Accident Book (HSE Publication BI 510) which must be maintained on each site.

All injuries should be reported because what may appear to be trivial can sometimes develop into more serious conditions.  Prompt, accurate reporting is essential for deciding what action is necessary to prevent a similar accident happening again.

Under certain circumstances details may need to be reported to the Health and Safety Executive via the appropriate enforcing authority* under RIDDOR (See section 8.5.1.1 below).

·         All premises should have a list of contact telephone numbers for local Environmental Health departments or you can telephone the Incident Contact Centre on 0845 300 9923 (numbers will also be in phone directories).  You can also send reports by e-mail to riddor@natbrit.com or via the RIDDOR website http://www.riddor.gov.uk

8.5.2            RIDDOR

If you are an employer, self-employed or in control of work premises you have duties under RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995).

What needs to be reported?

Under RIDDOR it is a legal requirement that you report some work-related accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences.  This requirement covers all work activities, but not all incidents.

The following are reportable if they arise ‘out of or in connection with work’:

·         Accidents which result in:

i)                    the death of an employee or a self-employed person, or;

ii)                   an employee or a self-employed person suffering a major injury, or;

iii)                 an employee or a self-employed person being absent from work or unable to do their normal duties for more than three days.

·         Accidents which result in a person not at work suffering an injury and being taken to a hospital, or if the accident happens at a hospital, suffers a major injury.

·         An employee or self-employed person suffering one of the specified work-related diseases.

·         One of the specified ‘dangerous occurrences’ — these do not necessary result in injury but have the potential to do significant harm.

Who should report?

Employers, the self-employed and those in control of work premises have duties under the Regulations.  The duty to notify and report rests with the ‘responsible person’.  This may be the employer of an injured person, a self-employed person, or someone in control of premises where work is carried out.  Who this responsible person is depends upon the circumstances of the notifiable event as shown in table 1.

Table 1 — RIDDOR — Notifiable events

Reportable major injuries include:

·         Fractures, except to fingers, thumbs or toes.

·         Amputation.

·         Dislocation of the shoulder, hip, knee or spine.

·         Loss of sight (temporary or permanent).

·         Chemical or hot metal burn to the eye, or any penetrating injury to the eye.

·         Injury resulting from electric shock or electrical burn, leading to unconsciousness or requiring resuscitation or admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours.

·         Acute illness requiring medical treatment, or loss of consciousness resulting from absorption of any substance by inhalation, ingestion or through the skin or exposure to a biological agent.

·         Any other injury which:

i)                                       Leads to: hypothermia, heat-induced illness or unconsciousness;

ii)                                      Requires resuscitation or admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours.

Over-three-day injuries

You must report accidents connected with work which result in an employee, or a self-employed person working on your premises being away from work or unable to do their normal duties for more than three days (including non-work days).

Diseases

You must report any case in which a doctor notifies you in writing that one of your employees is suffering from a disease specified in RIDDOR which is linked with the corresponding activity.

Self-employed people need to make their own arrangements to notify any reportable diseases they suffer.

Reportable diseases include:

·         Some skin diseases, such as occupational dermatitis.

·         Occupational asthma or respiratory sensitisation.

·         Infections such as hepatitis, tuberculosis, legionellosis and tetanus.

·         Any other infection reliably attributable to work with biological agents, exposure to blood or body fluids or any potentially infective material.

·         Other conditions, such as occupational cancer and certain musculoskeletal disorders.

Dangerous occurrences

Dangerous occurrences are specified events, which may not result in a reportable injury, but have the potential to do significant harm.

Reportable dangerous occurrences include the following:

·         The collapse, overturning or failure of load-bearing parts of lifts and lifting equipment.

·         The accidental release of a biological agent likely to cause severe human illness (a hazard group 3 or 4 pathogen).

·         The accidental release of any substance which may damage health.

·         The explosion, collapse or bursting of any closed vessel or associated pipe-work.

·          An electrical short circuit or overload causing fire or explosion.

·          An explosion or fire causing suspension of normal work for over 24 hours.

8.6.1            Employers Duties

The employer has several duties under the Regulations but the main requirement is that if provision is made for first aid, it must be adequate and appropriate in the circumstances in which the employer operates.

This means that the first aid provided in a refinery or manufacturing plant would be vastly different to an office or shop which employs three staff.

The HSE recommendations on employers duties are shown in Table 2.

Table 2 — HSE recommendations on employers duties

8.6.2            Responsibilities of First Aiders

An Appointed Person is someone the employer chooses to:

·         Take charge when someone is injured or falls ill, including calling an ambulance if required;

·         Look after the first-aid equipment, e.g. restocking the first-aid box.

Appointed Persons should not attempt to give first aid for which they have not been trained (short emergency first-aid courses are available).

An Appointed Person should be available at all times people are at work — this may mean appointing more than one.

A First Aider is someone who has undergone a training course in administering first aid at work and holds a current first aid at work certificate.

A First Aider can undertake the duties of an Appointed Person.

When the assessment of first aid requirements has been completed, the employer should provide the materials, equipment and facilities needed to ensure that the level of cover identified as necessary will be available to employees at all relevant times.  This will include that first aid equipment, suitably marked and easily accessible, is available in all places where working conditions require it.

8.6.3    The needs of travelling, remote and lone workers

Employers are responsible for meeting the first aid needs of their employees working away from the main site, Engineer Surveyors would fit into this category.

The assessment should determine whether those who travel long distances or are continuously mobile should carry a personal first aid kit.

Organisation with employees working in remote areas should consider making special arrangements such as issuing personal mobile phones, providing special training and organising emergency assistance, this would also apply to lone workers.

8.7       End of module and next steps

Well done!  By reaching this point you will have finished studying this particular module.  You should now have sufficient knowledge to answer the questions contained at the end of the module.

Answers to the questions should be forwarded to your Health and Safety Manager.

Provided that you have answered the questions correctly, your Health and Safety Manager will forward to you your next self study module.