Hard-hitting workplace safety campaign launched

Published at 11:37, Monday, 08 February 2010

A HARD-hitting campaign has been launched to prevent accidents in the workplace.

The Health and Safety Executive is launching a new phase of its Shattered Lives campaign.

More workplace deaths are triggered by falls from height than any other cause, according to official statistics.

Slips and trips, which are the most common cause of major workplace injury in Britain, cost an estimated £800m each year.

In Copeland, 49 people were injured last year. Eleven people were badly injured by slips and trips and 27 people needed at least three days off work. Seven people were hurt badly in falls and four people were off for three days or more.

Across Cumbria, slips, trips and falls caused 428 serious injuries to workers last year.

Three people died in falls last year in the north west, though no deaths occurred in Cumbria.

As part of the Shattered Lives campaign, the HSE is directing people to the new website – www.hse.gov.uk/shatteredlives – which offers practical advice and guidance.

The campaign is targeted at those sectors where there are a high number of slips, trips and falls each year, including health and social care, education, food manufacturing, food retail, catering and hospitality, building and plant maintenance, and construction.

Mike Cross, HSE head of operations in the north west, said: “These figures highlight the very real and serious nature of preventable deaths and injuries in the workplace.

“Slips, trips and falls might sound funny but they shatter the lives of thousands of British workers ever year.”

Brendan Barber, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, said: “Every one of the deaths caused by slips, trips and falls were preventable.

“The key is proper risk assessment and control measures as highlighted by HSE.

“Unions will warmly welcome this practical hard-hitting campaign and will be raising the issue with employers wherever and whenever they can.”