COULD AIRLINE DVT LEAD TO CORPORATE MANSLAUGHTER CHARGES?
Posted Sunday, May 25, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
The prospect of senior employees of airline companies appearing in court over cases of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) aggravated by long-haul flights may be moving closer.
It is being widely reported that police authorities in Devon and Cornwall and also in South Wales are weighing up evidence related to the circumstances surrounding the DVT deaths of several passengers.
It is understood that at least one police authority is in contact with the Crown Prosecution Service, the HSE and the National Crime Faculty in relation to at least one case.
It is known that the family of Sara Brown, 23, who died as a result of DVT that developed following a 25-hour flight from Sydney to London, have made a complaint to South Wales Police who are preparing a file of for the CPS
GET REVISED BI510 TO COMPLY WITH NEW DATA PROTECTION ACT
Posted Sunday, May 25, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
The HSE is launching its new BI510 Accident Book - approved by the Information Commissioner - at the RoSPA Conference for Occupational Health and Safety.
The revised BI510 allows organisations to record personal details and information to be seen by anyone reading or making an entry in the book without infringing the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). The previous version, produced by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), and other similar books do not comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA).
The Information Commissioner, whose role is to enforce the DPA, has ruled that a seven-month lead-in time may be given but that businesses must change their accident book to comply with the DPA by 31 December 2003.
NEW DESIGN
The new design allows for accidents to be recorded, while details of individual(s) can be stored separately in a secure location.
In addition to recording incidents, the new book also contains useful information on first aid and how to manage health and safety information to help prevent accidents from happening in the first place. The HSE has an exhibition stand dedicated to the accident book, where copies can be obtained.
Copies of The HSE Accident Book ISBN 0 7176 2603 2 price £4.75 plus VAT are available from HSE Books, PO Box 1999, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 2WA, tel: 01787-881165 or fax: 01787-313995).
"The book is being launched as a tool to help organisations in terms of both health and safety and Data Protection compliance. All organisations now have seven months to meet the new Data Protection regulations, which will be enforceable from 31 December 2003." - Kate Timms, HSE Deputy Director General
NHS TRUST TO BE PROSECUTED
Posted Sunday, May 25, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
HSE is to prosecute University Hospital Birmingham NHS Trust following the deaths of two elderly patients in separate incidents at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.
Edmund White died following an operation on 25th April 2002 during which the anaesthetic machine failed, it being alleged by the HSE that the machine was inadequately maintained.
Rita Langley, 72, died when she fell 5 metres from an insecure window on 27th June 2002.
University Hospital Birmingham NHS Trust is charged with two alleged breaches of S.3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
PARAMEDICS APPROVE OF SELF-DEFENCE TRAINING
Posted Sunday, May 25, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
West Midlands Ambulance Service personnel can now take advantage of training that will prepare them to handle violent situations, defuse them if possible and break free if necessary.
Front-line paramedics, sadly, are facing such events in the normal course of their work explains Service Chief Executive Barry Johns who describes the violence as endemic - "Ambulance staff experience incidents where they are physically and verbally abused on a daily basis, so as part of their training they will learn techniques to allow them to escape from people who grab or assault them.
The next step is to develop the skills of staff who have to deal with verbal abuse on the telephone." Solutions Training of Walton-on-Thames are involved in the project.
COMPANY'S INADEQUATE PROCEDURES LED TO SIGNIFICANT ASBESTOS EXPOSURES FOR ENGINEERS
Posted Sunday, May 25, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
The HSE has successfully prosecuted Seeboard Powerlink Ltd in a case related to work carried out at Greenwich power station in London during November 2001 when workers were exposed to asbestos.
Seeboard Powerlink Ltd of Crawley, West Sussex, a consortium made up from Seeboard, Balfour Beatty, and ABB, formed to provide electrical power to London Underground under a PFI contract, has pleaded guilty and been fined £5,000 for a breach of Regulation 8(1)(a) of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 1987, for failing to prevent the exposure of their lagger to asbestos. It also pleaded guilty to a breach of S.3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work, etc., Act 1974, for exposing Alstom engineers to risks to their health and safety and was fined £20,000 with costs of £4,941.
WRONG ADVICE
At the time of the incident, Seeboard Powerlink operated Greenwich power station and Alstom Power Construction was carrying out a programme of planned maintenance work on gas turbine alternators there.
Following some repairs, there were problems in re-aligning the alternator and turbine couplings on one of the machines. As a result, Seeboard removed parts from a redundant alternator to fit them to the refurbished one.
In order for Alstom to complete the maintenance, a Seeboard Powerlink employee, a lagger, removed part of a layer of thermal insulation from the alternator. The employee was wrongly advised that the insulation was not asbestos, based on an asbestos survey on a different alternator. As a result, the employee and engineers from Alstom were exposed to significant amounts of white asbestos, and substantial amounts of brown and blue asbestos.
HSE deemed Seeboard Powerlink's procedures were not adequate to prevent exposure to asbestos. It was not sufficient for Seeboard Powerlink to rely on an asbestos survey carried out on a different machine.
SCAFFOLDING FIRM FINED £75,000
Posted Sunday, May 25, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
William Hare Limited, of Bury, Lancashire, one of UK's largest steel erection companies, has been fined a total of £75,000 for its failures leading to an incident in April 1998 in which two workers fell from height, resulting in the death of one of them, while undertaking construction work at the Imperial War Museum in London.
William Hare Limited pleaded guilty at the City of London Magistrates' Court to a breach of S.2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for failing to ensure the safety of its employees. It was fined total of £75,000 with £9,162.80 costs at the Old Bailey.
Brian Knights, a steel erector employed by William Hare Limited, fell from the steelwork of the new extension to the ground outside the structure and was killed. Richard Bartram, another steel erector, also fell in the same incident but landed on the decked-out floor below and escaped serious injury.
PATENTLY UNSAFE SYSTEM OF WORK
Mr Knights and Mr Bartram had been standing on a wooden staging board that was resting on two horizontal steel beams 13 metres above the ground. They were retrieving a ladder that was footed on the staging board, and giving access to the top of a column, where steel channels had been bolted into position a few days earlier. The board became unbalanced and tipped both men off.
Speaking of the patently unsafe system of work adopted HSE's Alec Ferguson said: "The method statement for the scaffolding work being undertaken at the Imperial War Museum was not sufficiently detailed to cover the erection of the steel channels, which led to an improvised system being developed on site.
This dreadful accident has highlighted the need for the most detailed planning and preparation for all high-risk activities such as steel erection. This accident could have been avoided if the company had specified a safe system of work undertaken with suitable supervision."
HSENI ASKS FOR EXTRA VIGILANCE!
Posted Sunday, May 25, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) is concerned that the coming summer months can spell danger for those children who live on or visit farms. Already this year 2 children have been killed in tragic accidents on Northern Ireland’s farms.
It advises parents and adults to be aware where the children are playing at all times, make sure that they are well protected from any danger, and remember that young children can get into places that may be unattractive or inaccessible to adults.
The main hazards on farms are moving vehicles and machinery, slurry tanks, unstable heavy objects, animals, chemicals and fire - children must be kept away from these. Children aged less than 13 years must not be carried on tractors or machinery.
EXHIBITION
HSENI strongly advocates the provision of a supervised play area for young children on farms.
To reinforce this and other health and safety messages, HSENI will be staging an exhibition in the Balmoral Hall during the Balmoral Show from 14th to 16th May. Inspectors will be available to offer specific health and safety on farms guidance, as well as raising awareness of the hazards associated with construction, quarries and concrete products industries, and advising how these hazards can be effectively minimised and controlled.
The HSENI website features a special section called ‘Play safe, stay safe’ with activities on a health and safety theme tailored for children www.hseni.gov.uk .
SAFER TRIPS ACROSS THE CHANNEL
Posted Sunday, May 25, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
Vessels passing through and across the busy Dover Strait will be among the safest in the world now that the latest in ship safety and surveillance systems is housed at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency's newly refurbished Dover base - MCA Dover.
The system has a state of the art Vessel Traffic Management Information System (VTMIS) for tracking ships in the Dover Strait.
The site's Channel Navigation Information Service is one of the first of its kind in the world, MCA Dover will train maritime professionals from all over the world.
Murray Milligan, District Controller of Dover Coastguard says: "We are confident that the new equipment at Dover will enhance navigation safety in the Strait".
SARS LATEST ADVICE AND INFORMATION FOR PUBLIC & EMPLOYERS
Posted Saturday, May 24, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
The latest advice on all aspects of SARS (Severe acute respiratory syndrome) is available from a number of UK Government agencies.
The HSE has devoted a special SARS web page with links to a number of them.
Retail chain ASDA is paying some employees to stay away from work following their return from certain affected countries.
An ASDA spokeswoman said: "We have decided, for the sake of clarity, to tell colleagues that any time off work following trips to these areas would be paid leave."
PLAY TO SUE!
Posted Saturday, May 24, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
The gates to the children's play park in Hovingham, Yorkshire, are locked, a result of a flood of UK insurance claims driven by no-win no-fee insurance claim legal practitioners.
Premiums have risen from a few hundred pounds to over £1,000, a sum currently beyond the means of the small community who operate it.
SIMPLY WORKWEAR IN VOGUE!
Posted Saturday, May 24, 2003 by Ahmed Khan
Amongst our ever increasing list of prestigious clients we are delighted to welcome VOGUE (US).
A number of our products are featured in the May 2003 edition of Vogue Magazine (US Edition) & can be seen under the heading of “THE MOD SQUAD”.