Silent Killer!

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and Gas Safe Charity are launching a major new programme to raise awareness of the “silent killer” – carbon monoxide – which will see 10,000 families receiving a free CO detector and many more receiving safety information.

The “Be Gas Safe” programme (www.carbonmonoxidesafety.org.uk) aims to make people aware of the dangers of carbon monoxide (CO) and the steps that can be taken to prevent CO poisoning, such as the need for regular servicing of fuel-burning appliances, good ventilation and the use of audible CO detectors.

Organisations that have regular and direct contact with key risk groups (particularly families with young children and older people) are now being sought to become local partners to help deliver the programme across England. Priority will be given to organisations in areas where there has been a higher incidence of carbon monoxide poisoning per head of population.

Each year in England and Wales, there are approximately 50 accidental deaths, 200 non-fatal poisonings that require hospital admission and 4,000 visits to A&E that result from CO poisoning*. Children and older people are particularly at risk.

Clock change and RoSPA – time for a change.

Would you like to see an extra hour of evening daylight all year round, across the UK? Proposals to amend the system of timekeeping have a long history in Britain, with RoSPA spearheading the campaign for a change that would bring lighter evenings all year round.

Watch RoSPA Chief Executive Tom Mullarkey  at http://www.rospa.com/roadsafety/features/lighter-evenings.aspx as he urges the UK to get behind this universally appealing proposal.

Nappy sack dangers

RoSPA have highlighted the dangers associated with nappy sacks, the small plastic bags used to dispose of soiled nappies, and the risks they pose to babies and young children.

The Royal Society are aware of at least 12 deaths involving nappy sacks since 2001, where babies have suffocated after a nappy sack covered their mouth and nose, or have choked after putting a nappy sack in their mouth.

Parents and carers are generally aware of the dangers posed by plastic bags, but may not make the link to nappy sacks posing similar risks. Nappy sacks or bags tend to be fragranced, are made of a much more flimsy material, and do not rustle in the same way as plastic bags meaning they can be easily grasped and breathed in by young babies.

RoSPA launch new on-line driver training package.

Initial driver training and risk assessment no longer have to involve time away from the office or paying for trainers to visit your premises. Online solutions are an increasingly popular tool for these essential activities.

RoSPA is pleased to launch the Online Driver Safety Package which combines their popular Driver Profiler and E-learning services. Companies can now fulfil their legal duty of care to risk assess their fleet of drivers with Driver Profiler and follow up with essential training to ensure all your drivers are equipped with key introductory knowledge and driving skills theory.

What are the benefits:

• A more holistic & comprehensive approach to driver / fleet safety
• Identifies high risk drivers
• Identifies priority in-vehicle driver training candidates
• Less downtime than traditional in-vehicles alternatives
• More cost effective than in-vehicle services
• Free trial available

RoSPA submits evidence to review of Health and Safety.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents has urged the Löfstedt Review team to take a broad and evidence-based approach to its task and look for practical solutions which could help all businesses, including small firms, to meet their health and safety duties.

RoSPA has submitted evidence to the team cautioning against reducing the number of regulations by merger purely for cosmetic reasons, and has made a number of proposals for practical measures that could be taken, including:

• Giving lower-risk small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) the option of producing simple health and safety action plans based on the combined safety policy and risk assessment template already offered by the HSE
• Encouraging third party “semi-regulators” (such as clients, insurers, investors, and training funders) to implement mediation procedures enabling firms to appeal against what they see as over-the-top requirements
•  Looking at lessons that can be learned from what has worked well in other industrialised countries and link this to wider efforts to promote effective health and safety regulation worldwide.

Tesco driving safety?

Tesco Dotcom has won RoSPA’s Managing Occupational Road Risk (MORR) Trophy for the third consecutive year.

It was presented with the award in recognition of its effective and cohesive MORR programme, which is supported by historical performance data.

The MORR Trophy is presented annually as part of RoSPA’s Occupational Health and Safety Awards, which are sponsored by NEBOSH (the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health).

Heath and Safety Community has crucial role to play in the future.

 The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents believes the wider health and safety community     has an even more critical preventative and advisory role to play due to a shift in regulatory emphasis announced yesterday 21 March by Chris Grayling, the Minister for Work and Pensions.

Outlining a series of steps, he said that health and safety inspections would be cut by at least a third, with future automatic inspections focusing on “high risk” locations, such as major energy facilities, and on “rogue employers”. Such rogue employers would have to pay the cost of investigations into their activities if they showed them to be in breach of health and safety law. A review of all existing health and safety law, with a view to scrapping unnecessary measures, was also announced, as was a new online advice package for small and “low risk” employers. All the measures are contained within “Good Health and Safety, Good for Everyone”, which is published  by the Department for Work and Pensions