GO HOME HEALTHY
The HSE used its first ever annual conference on 18 September to launch a new occupational health awareness campaign, Go Home Healthy, aimed at a broad-spectrum audience ranging from employers, managers and employees to industry sector bodies.
So this week I thought that I would look at this campaign, which The Wilkins Safety Group support, and hopefully get you and your company to join in and do your bit to ensure that everyone Goes Home Healthy.
We also have 2 recent HSE cases for you to look at and think about:
- Two scaffold Inspectors have been prosecuted after a worker fell through a gap between the scaffolding and the building, resulting in serious injuries
- The worker suffered a partial amputation to his left hand following this incident.
We hope you learn from the mistakes of others that are highlighted in our weekly newsletters and, as a result, do not have similar accidents at your workplace.
As ever, if you have a subject that you would like us to cover one week, please contact us by phone 01458 253682, email or via our Facebook page or by Twitter.
Go Home Healthy
This campaign is a new push by the HSE to promote Health as much as safety. It was launched last week at a conference attended by an invited audience of around 300 employers, union representatives, health and safety bodies and sector groups, and was held at the Queen Elizabeth Conference Centre in Westminster.
Go Home Healthy is being pushed by the HSE on a website that links to HSE guidance, case studies, videos and thought leadership, on the three main themes. There are also “partner pages” where web users can download material from other organisations.
The campaign’s title of “Go Home Healthy” is said to represent the overall goal and “promise”, rather than an exhortation to workers to consider their own health risks.
Everyone should go home healthy from work.
Under this umbrella of “Go Home Healthy” the HSE is focusing on three priority areas:
- Occupational Lung disease;
- Musculoskeletal Disorders MSDs;
- Work related stress;
Occupational Lung Disease
Statistics show that there are 14,000 new cases of Lung Problems either caused or made worse by work each year. There are 400,000 work days lost each year and 12,000 deaths each year from work related lung disease.
Watch the short video that comes with it, you may be surprised.
Now ask yourself the following questions:
Do you require your workforce to go into dusty situations?
Do you look at alternative ways to do the work so as to reduce the dust levels they are exposed to?
If you need to give them RPE have you had them all “Face Fitted”?
Musculoskeletal Disorders MSDs
Did you know that 9 million working days are lost each year because of Musculoskeletal Disorders with 539,000 new cases last year?
MSDs include injury and pain to backs, joints and limbs which can affect your quality of life. Do the right thing and protect your workers from work-related MSDs.
To prevent injuries, AVOID hazardous manual handling tasks. If you have to handle loads, ASSESS the risk of Injury from that Task and REDUCE the risk of injury by putting sensible control measures in place.
If you have to lift follow these steps:
- Plan the lift
- Adopt a stable position
- Get a good Hold
- Have your back straight and knees slightly bent
- Keep the load close to your waist
- Avoid twisting or leaning
- Keep your head up
- Move smoothly
Work related stress
Did you know that 12 million working days are lost each year because of stress with 500,000 workers suffering from work related stress, anxiety or depression?
Excessive pressure and demands at work can cause stress. This can lead to chronic physical and mental health conditions. Do the right thing and protect your workers from work-related stress
You have a legal duty to protect workers from stress at work by doing a risk assessment and acting on it. Watch this short video to see examples of what to do.
So how are the HSE proposing to enforce this?
According to Peter Brown, the HSE’s deputy director of work and health;
“We’re trying not to have health as a standalone, but to integrate health into the sector plans.
“We think of the strategy as having ‘warp and weft’ – you can trace the threads of different issues across the various sectors, for example MSDs in the waste and recycling sector, and stress in the public services.”
In terms of enforcement and inspection activity, Mr Brown has said that the HSE’s three to five year plan would have various emphases throughout that time, with the manufacturing sector and MSD hazards being a current focus for inspectors in the HSE’s field operations team.
“A big initiative for the Field Operations Division this year is to do inspections in the manufacturing sector, particularly around MSDs, and if we were to find that things were not up to scratch, there is the possibility of enforcement action. Then we would amplify that through an effective communications strategy.
“We’re keen to amplify anything that does happen. We also know how word gets around, employers hear about inspections through their own networks, and we will do what we can to draw attention to it.”
Future years would bring a different focus, he said. “In three years’ time, it might be we do more field [operations] activity in the waste and recycling sector.”
The HSE has also added a fourth strand to its health campaign, on occupational health leadership. A new health leadership section has been added to the HSE’s website, asking practitioners to submit examples of “what good looks like”, for example in 30 second video clips.
Mr Brown explained that this additional focus was the result of feedback the HSE received at stakeholder events under the Helping GB Work Well campaign.
“The feedback from our roadshows is that there is a desire for peer to peer learning. People ask: ‘Has anyone like me done something similar?’ As a regulator we can facilitate that kind of dialogue. The health leadership strand will say: ‘Good occupational health looks like this.’”
It also encourages holistic approaches to health interventions, he explained. “We don’t want people to focus on stress while others are breathing in stone dust or diesel fumes.”
Mr Brown also stressed that the HSE wanted to join forces with other organisations that were already campaigning on workplace health issues.
“We want to see sectors step up and own a problem, in the way the Health in Construction Leadership Group has, or the Chemical Industries Association, which runs its own health leadership awards. We would like that to be seen at every level.
“We very much want to partner up, there has been very good work done by others, and we don’t want to set up as a confusing alternative. We want to link up with other players.”
So now it is over to you to see what you can do to ensure you and your employees GO HOME HEALTHY
If you need further information please call us on 01458 253682 or send us an email.
Taunton & Somerset CPD Group at The Lawns Taunton
Martin Kent our Customer Relations Manager has arranged this month’s seminar – see below. As previously requested, if you could let Martin know whether or not you can attend it would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you would like to give a talk, or know of somebody who would, please contact Martin at [email protected].
Our next Seminar will now be on Tuesday 17th October not the 18th due to catering availability. Could you please arrive by 12:15pm as we will in future be starting the presentation at 12-30pm prompt.
Our speaker for this one is Dave White from Robex Industrial Products
If you haven’t already booked your place, or if you are not on the CPD Seminar mailing list but would like to be please drop Martin an email and he will deal with your request.
Just to give you some advanced notice the next seminar will be 22nd November when Savills will be coming along.
Training Courses
We are pleased to announce that we have been appointed to provide “In House” training for three prestigious customers. One in Cheltenham and Two in London.
We have recently provided training for Regional Directors of Bovis Homes at their offices in Cheltenham
In October, we are training Representatives from Wellcome Trust at their office on Euston Road, London.
Then in November we are then providing two training days for staff at the British Museum in Bloomsbury London.
You too can enjoy the benefits of superior accredited training courses as enjoyed by these companies and others.
Listed below are our latest batch of “Open” courses which we are again running at the Taunton Racecourse which is beautifully situated in the heart of the South Somerset countryside. The unique atmosphere and panoramic views across the racecourse to the Blackdown Hills, along with their excellent buffet lunches, make the racecourse the perfect location for successful learning.
Also remember we are still available for running “In House” courses and are looking to add new training courses to our list.
If you have any questions about these courses or any other training or would like us to run a particular course for you, call Jon Wilkins of the Wilkins Safety Group on 01458 253682 or email him.