Accidents must be a real early warning system
25/04/05
Thompsons Scotland along with the TUC have called for the official rules on the reporting of work accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences clarified, enforced and turned into an effective early warning system.
The calls comes as The Health and Safety Commission considers changes to the reporting regulations, RIDDOR. 'TUC wants to ensure that all the information required to gauge the level of occupational injury and illness can be obtained easily and that any new trends can be identified at the earliest possible opportunity,' said TUC head of safety Hugh Robertson. 'The current scheme is both confusing and has some glaring omissions. It is also widely ignored by many employers and not enforced by the HSE.' He said the reporting system should be revised so it is 'comprehensive, understandable and adhered to.' He added that 'whatever changes are made, under-reporting must also be addressed.' The revised scheme should be compatible with the ILO protocol on reporting injuries and ill-health, so that proper international comparisons can be made, he said.
HSC news release.
Discussion - The Review of The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR).
The discussion ends on 30 June 2005. HSE says it would prefer responses on the online Discussion Document questionnaire form.
The address to obtain a hard copy of the form or to provide a formal written response is: Maureen Disson, HSE, Policy Group - Cross Cutting Interventions Division, 9th Floor South Wing, Rose Court, 2 Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HS. Tel: 020 7717 6399.
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