Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Report 2013/2014. Executive Summary

Transcription

1 Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Report 2013/2014 Executive Summary The year April 2013 to March 2014 has seen further improvements in the Council s health, safety and emergency resilience performance and also the implications of challenges to be faced in delivery of these services and maintenance of this performance. Positive indicators seen in 2013/2014 are: A decrease in accidents reported to 211 accidents (with a reporting rate of 94.2%) A decrease in reports of violence and aggression reported to 238 incidents A slight decrease in ill health absence attributed to problems related to mental/emotional wellbeing to 23,490 days An increase in compliance with requirements to develop risk assessments which has risen to 79% corporately and 71% overall including schools The majority (90%) of audits show a satisfactory level of compliance with the Council s governance arrangements for health and safety However, some negative indicators are also seen: An increase in days lost due to accidents to 720 days An increase in RIDDOR reportable accidents to 26 (7 specified [major] injuries, and 19 over seven day injuries) albeit that the Council s performance when compared to national statistics is favourable An increase ill health absence attributed to musculoskeletal related problems to 10,690 days An increase in the number of employer s liability claims with 21 related to accidents and 40 to work related ill health Despite these negatives, reflecting the Council s overall performance in this area, the Council has not experienced any enforcement action by the Health and Safety Executive or South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue and achieved the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) President s Award for Occupational Safety and Health and the British Safety Council International Safety Award. During 2013/2014 the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service has worked internally and with multi-agency partners on maintaining and improving the Council s emergency resilience. Notably, the Service led a review of South Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum s Community Risk Register which is now used as the evidence base for all the work of the Forum. This year has seen changes to the Council s resources for health, safety and emergency resilience and methods of service delivery, with the effect of efficiencies reducing the breadth and depth of services provided and a move to a greater reliance on operational departments to fulfil aspects of the overall health, safety and emergency resilience function.

2 Contents Executive summary 1 List of Figures 4 1. Introduction 5 2. Health, safety and emergency resilience commentary 2.1 Health, safety and emergency resilience management Policy Planning Implementing and operation Checking and corrective action Management review Health, safety and emergency resilience advice Health, safety and emergency resilience targets 2013/ Consultation with employees with regard to health, safety and emergency 11 resilience 2.5 Health, safety and emergency resilience targets for 2014/ Health and safety performance 3.1 Accidents and incidents Accident analysis Aggression and violence analysis Incident analysis Safety observation analysis Major injury analysis Work related ill health Cost of accidents to and ill health associated with work in employees Risk assessment Enforcement action against the Council Occupational road risk issues Health and safety audits Health and safety audits of Council services Health and safety audits of secondary, through schools and special 29 schools Health and safety audits of primary schools Comparison of health, safety and emergency resilience targets with health and 31 safety performance 3.9 Awards presented to the Council during in recognition of its health, safety and emergency resilience performance Overview of the undertakings of the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service 4.1 Introduction/service context Work programme and initiatives for 2013/ Health and safety training Provision of occupational health services Origin of occupational health referrals Pre-employment assessments Occupational health service elements Counselling services Health, safety and emergency resilience services to external organisations under Service Level Agreements 39 2

3 4.6 Work programme and initiatives for 2014/ Finance and Property support and performance with regard to health, safety and emergency resilience 5.1 Support for health, safety and emergency resilience initiatives Employers liability claims Health, safety and emergency resilience legislation review Conclusion 45 3

4 List of figures 1. Elements in the Council s occupational health and safety management system 7 2. Support provided by the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service Accident statistics by Directorate Incidents rates by Directorate Accident statistics and costs 2009/2010 to 2013/ Causes of accidents Part of body injured in accidents Type of injury Incidents of violence and aggression by Directorate Types of incidents of violence and aggression by Directorate Part of body injured in incidents Types of injuries sustained in incidents of violence and aggression Major injury analysis Incidents of mental/emotional wellbeing and musculoskeletal related ill health by Directorate 15. Comparison of absences attributed to mental/emotional wellbeing and musculoskeletal related ill health from 2009/2010 to 2013/ Responses provided to the question had a risk assessment been carried out for the activity undertaken prior to the accident? and the question has a risk assessment been reviewed/developed for the activity undertaken after the accident? 17. Results of health and safety audits of secondary schools Results of health and safety audits of primary schools Issues identified by health and safety audits of primary schools Health and safety related training provided by the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service 21. BOLD training Origin of occupational health referrals Occupational Health contacts by practitioner Services provided by the Occupational Health Unit Employers liability claims 2009/2010 to 2013/ Analysis of ongoing employers liability claims

5 1 Introduction Performance management is integral to good business practice. The aim of this annual Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Report is to assist in the continuous improvement of health, safety and emergency resilience within the Council. The Report s associated objectives are to: Provide a commentary on health, safety and emergency resilience within the Council Detail the Council s health and safety performance Outline the work undertaken throughout 2013/2014 by the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience service Provide a brief overview of the activities of the Council s Finance, Property and Information Services Directorate as they relate directly to the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service The Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service extends its thanks to the Finance, Property and Information Services Directorate for their assistance and contribution to the compilation of this Report: Audit and Risk Management Division for support with regard to employees liability claims information and risk management support for health, safety and emergency resilience initiatives Financial and Business Support Services for information/data regarding reported employee sickness absence In addition, the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service extends its gratitude to all Directorates, Divisions, Services and employees at all levels for their continued efforts, assistance and contribution to the Council s health, safety and emergency resilience record. 5

6 2 Health, safety and emergency resilience commentary 2.1 Health, safety and emergency resilience management There are legal, moral and business reasons for managing health and safety in a suitable and sufficient manner. The overall health and safety function within the Council involves all employees at all levels. United Kingdom health and safety legislation requires organisations to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees and others who may be affected by their work activities. The general duties are contained within the Health and Safety at Work etc Act The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 reinforce the general duties contained within the 1974 Act. As their name suggests these Regulations relate directly to the management of health and safety and require that various measures be taken. The Regulations detail requirements for arrangements to be in place to manage operations with regard to health and safety. The Health and Safety Executive develop and issue Approved Codes of Practice that detail how organisations can comply with their corresponding Regulations. By its nature work cannot be entirely hazard free. However, it can be managed to minimise risks and the effects on employees and the Council. Therefore the Council needs robust management systems to ensure that it manages health, safety and emergency resilience in an appropriate and proportionate manner. In a similar manner to health and safety, there are legal, moral, and business reasons for managing emergency resilience. The Civil Contingencies Act 2004, places duties on the Council as a Category 1 responder to emergencies, which are defined as: An event or situation which threatens serious damage to human welfare in a place in the UK, the environment of a place in the UK, or war or terrorism which threatens serious damage to the security of the UK. The duties placed on the Council are to: 1. Assess local risks and use this to inform emergency resilience arrangements/management 2. Put in place emergency plans 3. Put in place business continuity management arrangements 4. Put in place arrangements to make information available to the public about civil protection matters and maintain arrangements to warn, inform and advise the public in the event of an emergency 5. Share information with other local responders to enhance co-ordination 6. Co-operate with other local responders to enhance co-ordination and efficiency 7. Provide advice and assistance to businesses and voluntary organisations about business continuity management. The Council has a fully documented health and safety management system that also encompasses emergency resilience, which is based on the nationally accepted standards produced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) (HSG65 Managing for health and safety ) and the British Standards Institution (BS 18001:2007 Occupational health and safety management systems - specification ). In October 2013 the Council s accreditation to the British Standard for occupational health and safety management BS OHSAS 18001:2007 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems Specification was once again confirmed. The system follows the basic management process of plan-do-check-act and comprises elements thus: 6

7 Figure 1: elements in the Council s occupational health and safety management system The topics covered by the Council s occupational health and safety management system, comprise a full A to Z Policy The Council s Corporate Health and Safety Policy sets a clear direction for the Council to follow. It details responsibilities and provides a framework for continuous improvement. Directorates endorse the Corporate Health and Safety Policy to set the clear direction for the Directorate to follow. The Council s Chief Executive and Senior Management Team endorse the Corporate Health and Safety Policy. Health and safety is a standard agenda item on all senior and other management team meetings. Senior managers attend forums where the workforce and their representatives are involved in the management of health and safety, with the Council s Joint Employees Consultative Committee (JECC) receiving a health and safety briefing at each meeting. Due to the frequency of this meeting during 2013/2014 and quarterly summary report will be developed and issued during 2014/2015. The Council s Corporate Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Advisor provides a quarterly update to the Senior Management Team. The Council s decisionmaking process includes specific and explicit requirements to include health and safety and risk management in all Council decisions. Both Cabinet and the Senior Management Team consider these requirements when debating and deciding upon their actions. 7

8 2.1.2 Planning Health and Safety Standards (previously Strategic Assurance Standards) produced by the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service provide an effective performance management structure for delivering the Corporate Health and Safety Policy. The Standards outline the key management requirements for the element of health, safety and emergency preparedness (e.g. first aid). Subsequently the Standards introduce the topic concerned by explaining the topic, outlining the risks associated with it, providing hyperlinks to the HSE guidance where appropriate, and giving a brief overview of the legal requirements. Based on the Health and Safety Standards, Directorates, Divisions and Services (as appropriate) develop and maintain their own Management Procedures (previously Operational Assurance Procedures). The Management Procedures detail how health and safety is managed operationally within the Directorate, Division or Service. Managers refer to the Health and Safety Standards and their Directorate, Division or Service Management Procedures for specific guidance on the management of health and safety for the activities and workplaces for which they are responsible. A template for the production of Management Procedures is provided with each Health and Safety Standard, which are all available from the health and safety web pages on the intranet Implementing and operation The procedures and guidance produced by the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service enable managers to follow a planned and systematic approach to implementing the health and safety policy through an effective management system. The aim of the occupational health and safety management system is to minimise risks by a process of elimination or control. The Health and Safety Standards provide managers with guidance on the key activities for managing elements of health and safety, and form the basis of a system for individual managers to manage health and safety in their own areas of responsibility. A range of risk assessment templates are available to assist risk assessors in the completion of general occupational risk assessments and specific supporting assessments for specific hazards such as personal safety and manual handling Checking and corrective action Active self-monitoring is essential in enabling managers to measure their health and safety performance. Compliance Scoring Sheets (previously Strategic Monitoring Standards) provide managers with a simple checklist to monitor their compliance with regard to various elements of health, safety and emergency resilience, and identify where opportunities for improvement exist. The scoring sheets: Are topic specific Reflect the requirements of the Health and Safety Standard Are self regulating and measured (managers set their own monitoring programme and measures the performance of their own systems and procedures) Are simple (yes/no answers and a percentage scoring system) Are comparative to show where improvement has been made or opportunities for improvement exist Are auditable Managers implement a programme of active monitoring using the Compliance Scoring Sheets. To additionally actively monitor health and safety performance the workplace inspection sheet produced by the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service allows managers to visually inspect their work areas for defects and examples of good practice. Managers are required to develop and implement a programme of workplace inspections. 8

9 2.1.5 Management review The arrangements for periodic and systematic auditing by the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service enable the Council to learn from experience and share best practice. The Council acknowledges the many stakeholders in the overall health, safety and emergency resilience function and ensures that health and safety management is integral to the overall management of the organisation. The Council provides comprehensive guidance to its managers and employees regarding health and safety management. To enable Directorates, Divisions and Services and their managers to effectively manage health and safety appropriate guidance is required to inform them of the legal and best practice (the spirit of the law) requirements they need to meet, and, more importantly, how to meet them. This need is fulfilled by the Council s health and safety management system the overall aim of which is continual improvement. 2.2 Health, safety and emergency resilience advice The Council s Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service provides the statutory Competent Person service that imparts comprehensive advice and assistance to the Council and external organisations on all aspects of: Health and safety (including health surveillance) Civil contingencies/emergency resilience (emergency planning, response and recovery and business continuity) Fire safety The Service employs professional Chartered Health and Safety Practitioners (through the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), Europe s leading professional body for health and safety); and members of the Institution of Fire Engineers and Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management. In order to maintain and extend its competence the Service is: Registered with BSI as meeting the requirements of BS OHSAS 18001:2007 Occupational health and safety management systems requirements An IOSH accredited training centre for Managing Safely, Working Safely, Managing Safely Recertification and Working with Environmental Responsibilities A corporate member of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), the British Safety Council and the Fire Protection Association The service is fully comprehensive covering the areas described in Figure 2 overleaf: 9

10 The Council s Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service provides a Competent Person service that imparts comprehensive advice and assistance on all aspects of: Health and safety Civil contingencies/emergency resilience Fire safety The details of the service provided by each section are as follows: 1. Health and safety 10 Provision of general and specific advice on health and safety matters (including the provision of general advice on the health and safety aspects of occupational health matters) Development and maintenance of the Council s and school s health and safety management system and policy Maintain/up-date the Council s Health and Safety Intranet site Audit and inspection of Council departments, services and schools Contractors health and safety assessment scheme (CHAS) assessment of [local Barnsley based] contractors [with less than 5 employees] to the Council and schools and on-site monitoring of contractors Operation and maintenance of the Council s accident reporting systems and provision of accident investigation support following Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences (RIDDOR) incidents Consultation with employees via Joint Employees Consultative Committee (JECC) and local and Corporate Health and Safety Committees Development of the Council s Annual Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Report Provide first point of contact for the Council with all enforcement agencies Support in undertaking specific risk assessments (e.g. COSHH, manual handling, noise and vibration) Delivery of information, instruction and training including provision of IOSH accredited Managing and Working Safely and Working with Environmental Responsibilities courses Provision of Radiation Protection Officer service to secondary schools The commissioning of health surveillance 2. Civil contingencies/emergency resilience Development and maintenance of the Council s Corporate Resilience Plan and Business Continuity Plan Maintenance of the Council s Corporate Emergency Control Room and 24/7 Emergency Incident Officer arrangements Provision of general and specific advice on emergency resilience matters Delivery of information, instruction and training and exercises Provision of incident investigation/review following emergencies 3. Fire safety Development of policies, procedures and standards relating to fire safety Provision of general and specific advice on fire safety matters Fire risk assessment and review (including assessment of the physical premises, operations carried out within the premises and fire safety strategy for the premises) of Council and school premises Provision of general fire awareness/safety training and provision of specific fire safety/awareness training for Fire Marshals and Fire Wardens Figure 2: support provided by the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service 2.3 Health, safety and emergency resilience targets 2013/2014 Targets or goals for health, safety and emergency resilience within the Council are set both internally and externally. These targets range from demonstrable reductions in accidents to employees/work related ill health to the adoption of elements of the Council s health and safety management system. Internally, the Corporate Health and Safety Policy includes the targets that: 1. All Directorates, Divisions and Services will implement the Council s Occupational Health and Safety Management System to a standard meeting the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service s Satisfactory rating upon audit.

11 2. Each Directorate, Division and Service will produce all required occupation group risk assessments. 3. Each Directorate, Division and Service will have an action plan to implement the health and safety competencies detailed in Section 8 of the Corporate Health and Safety Policy. 4. All Directorates, Divisions and Services (as appropriate) will have up to date, tested and exercised Business Continuity Plans. 5. All Directorates, Divisions and Services (as appropriate) will have up to date, tested and exercised Emergency Resilience Plans. 2.4 Consultation with employees with regard to health, safety and emergency resilience The Council has corporate methods for involving all employees in health and safety management. As a hierarchy these forums are: Corporate Joint Employee Consultative Committees (comprising senior management and employee representatives, elected members and representatives of the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service) Corporate Health and Safety Committee (comprising management and employee representatives and a representative of the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service) In addition there are departmental committees and the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service involves managers and employees representatives in the development of management practices for the holistic health, safety and emergency resilience function. 2.5 Health, safety and emergency resilience targets for 2014/2015 The targets for 2014/2015 are set by the Corporate Health and Safety Policy: 1. All Directorates, Divisions and Services will implement the Council s Occupational Health and Safety Management System to a standard that would meet the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service s Good rating upon audit, with an increased good rating of 90%. 2. Each Directorate, Division and Service will produce all required risk assessments. 3. Each Directorate, Division and Service will have an action plan to implement the health and safety competencies detailed in Section 8 of the Corporate Health and Safety Policy. 4. All Directorates, Divisions and Services (as appropriate) will have up to date, tested and exercised Business Continuity Plans based on the new business continuity template. 11

12 3 Health and safety performance Accidents and incidents It is widely accepted throughout industry and commerce that the collation of accident, incident and ill health statistics can assist in improving health and safety within an organisation. These statistics can identify trends and once identified, measures can be put in place to reduce the incidence of accidents and incidents. Monitoring of performance allows the Council to improve its health and safety management system and risk control. The collation of accident data assists in ensuring that there is a systematic review of performance, based on data from the monitoring of the health and safety management system as a whole. Regular performance measurement ensures there is a strong commitment to continuous improvement involving the constant development of policies, systems and techniques of risk control. Performance is assessed by reference to the targets outlined above and comparison with national statistics Accident analysis Figure 3 details the accidents reported in 2013/2014. From April 2012 the requirement for accident reporting under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations was altered from accidents where the employee had over three days of absence due to the accidents, to over seven days of absence due to the accident. However, employers are still required to collate information on accidents where over three days of absence arose hence both for this and comparative purposes this data remains included in this report. From Figure 3 it can be seen that the total number of accidents reported in 2013/2014 for employees of the Council was 211. Of these: 38 resulted in the injured person being absent from work 25 resulted in the injured person being absent from work for more than 3 days and of these 19 additionally resulted in the injured person being absent from work for more than 7 days 7 resulted in major injury (see section 3.1.5) 66 resulted in first aid treatment being required 37 resulted in medical treatment being required following the accident It is useful for organisations, or departments within organisations, to compare their health and safety performance with others. Obviously, no two departments are identical in terms of size (or indeed nature of work) and therefore a method of calculation is needed that removes the size differences to allow comparisons to be made. This is achieved by calculating the incident rate, as shown in Figure 4. When interpreting the data in Figure 4 it is essential to bear in mind the following points: 1. The accident definition being used: the Council s figures include accidents where no physical injury occurred. The Health and Safety Executive s national figures only include statutorily reportable accidents where major injury (e.g. fracture other than to fingers or toes) or injuries resulted in absences over 7 (formerly 3) days. 2. Employees and the nature of their work vary throughout the Council and nationally. Variations may be to such an extent that it is not appropriate to make comparisons. For example, comparing the incident rate of manually based services and predominantly office based services. The incident rate is calculated by using the following formula: 1 Performance data for 2013/2014 excludes Voluntary Aided and Trust schools where the Council is not the employer. No accidents/incidents were reported within Public Health during 2013/2014 hence they are additionally excluded from the data and Figures. 12

13 Days lost due to accidents Medical treatment accidents (where the employee attended hospital or their GP) First aid accidents Major injury accidents Over 7 day accidents Over 3 day accidents Lost time accidents Reported accidents Directorate Incident Rate = Total Number of Accidents x Unit Number of Employees Number of Persons Employed (1000) Adult and Communities Children, Young People and Families Corporate Services Development, Environment and Culture Joint Secretariat Primary Schools Secondary Schools Special Schools Total/Overall / Figure 3: accidents statistics by Directorate Directorate Incident rate per 1,000 employees Over-three day accidents incident rate per 1,000 employees Overseven day accidents incident rate per 1,000 employees Major injury incident rate per 1,000 employees RIDDOR accident rate per 1,000 employees Adult and Communities Children, Young People and Families Corporate Services Development, Environment and Culture Joint Secretariat Primary Schools Secondary Schools Special Schools Total/Overall /

14 Figure 4: incident rates by Directorate The Health and Safety Executive s (HSE) have previously published accident ratios that relate numbers of accidents in one category to the number of accidents in another. The three categories used are: 1. Reportable injury (major or over 7-day lost time injury (major injury where a serious injury occurred, as defined under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995, for example a broken leg; over 7-day lost time injury where an injury resulted in the employee being absent from work for over 7 days (excluding the day of the accident). Both these types of injury are reportable to the HSE under RIDDOR 1995 (if reported to HSE as a major injury, the accident, where applicable, is not additionally reported as an over 7-day injury). For comparative purposes, and in the absence of revised ratios, also included in this category are the formerly reportable over 3 day accidents. 2. Minor injuries (accidents where an injury occurred which resulted in the employee being absent for 3 days or less or those resulting in no time lost). 3. Non-injury accident (accidents that did not result in injury and are also referred to as near miss accidents) The accident ratios previously used by the Health and Safety Executive are: 1 1 RIDDOR reportable accident 7 for every 7 [relatively] minor accidents 189 for every 189 non injury accident From the above triangle it can be seen that for every 1 RIDDOR reportable accident, 7 minor injury accidents would be expected. The above ratios can be applied to the Council s accident figures for 2013/2014 and show that 32 formerly reportable accidents occurred corresponding to 224 minor injury accidents, indicating that the reporting of accidents in 2013/2014 is 94.2%, giving a degree of confidence in the level of accident reporting within the Council. Figure 5, overleaf, shows the overall incident rate for accidents in the Council from 2009/2010 to 2013/2014. Figure 5 also shows, the overall decreases made over the years in total numbers of accidents, over three day accidents, number of days lost due to accidents and the cost of accidents (see Section 3.7 for further details regarding costs of accidents). The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) collate and produce national statistics for health and safety. In 2013/2014 the Council s over seven day incident rate (2.2) is below the national incident rate published by the Health and Safety Executive (6.2) - see Figure 5. Based on data in Figure 5 it may be anticipated that looking further ahead the Council s incident rate will remain below that of the Health and Safety Executive. However, it must be noted that any projection is based on data available, and that whilst it is envisaged that the downward trend in accidents (and consequently lost time) may continue, some fluctuation in accident numbers and rates should be expected (albeit acknowledging that whilst the Council employs people and continues to directly provide a full range of services, there will be accidents and ill health and therefore a natural plateauing of performance should be expected). The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 additionally require reports to be made where a member of the public (such as a school pupil) is injured in an 14

15 activity relating to the employer s undertaking and is taken directly to hospital following the accident. In 2013/ such accidents were recorded: 21 in primary schools 16 in secondary schools 5 in Development, Environment and Culture 4 in special schools 2 in through schools 15

16 16 Direct cost avoidance based on maximum days lost in 1999 (based on days lost and the cost of the working days lost) (3) Direct cost of days lost (based on days lost and the cost of the working days lost(in brackets)) (2) Over 7-Day Incident Rate (per 1000 employees) (HSE National Extrapolated Over 7-Day Incident Rate (per 1000 employees) in brackets) (1 Over 3-Day Incident Rate (per 1000 employees) (HSE National Extrapolated Over 3-Day Incident Rate (per 1000 employees) in brackets) (1) Overall incident rate (per 1,000 employees) Number of days lost per employee (based on accidents reported) Number of days lost due to reported accidents Number of Major injury accidents reported Number of over 7-day accidents reported Number of over 3-day accidents reported Total number of accidents reported Year (5) 2009/ ~ (6.5) Not applicable 45,910 ( 74.65) 2010/ ~ (9.2) Not 35,235 applicable ( 74.65) 2011/ [22] (7.1) Not 39,416 applicable ( 74.65) 2012/ (7.1) (4) Not 22,022 applicable ( 74.65) 2013/ (7) 2.2 (6.2) 54,072 ( 75.10) Percentage 75% 85% 13.6% 53% 82% 79% 81% Not applicable Not 74.9% change on decrease decrease decrease (22 decrease decrease decrease decrease applicable decrease maximum (835 (170 recorded in (15 (4,052.5 (0.39 (133.3 ( 215,741 in recorded recorded recorded in 2011/ 2012) recorded recorded in recorded recorded 2000/2001) in 1999) 1998) in 2006/ 1999) in 1999) in 1998) 256, , , , ,271 Not applicable 2007) Total 1, ,767 ~ ~ ~ ~ 281,439 1,325,463 (6) Figure 5: accident statistics and costs 2009/2010 to 2013/2014

17 17 1. National incident rate figures for the total number of accidents are unavailable due to the HSE only compiling figures for accidents reportable to the enforcing authority under the RIDDOR legislation. The HSE s extrapolated incident rate is calculated by scaling up the HSE s annually published estimated figure for the reporting of accidents (for 2012/2013 the HSE estimate that the reporting of these incidents has now fallen below half ) to 100%, which, due to robust absence management policies, is the assumed level of over 3-day/over 7-day accident reporting within the Council ( accessed 22 nd August 2014). Note that from 2013, there was no longer a requirement to report over 3-day accidents to the HSE as this changed to over 7-days in line with the revisions to RIDDOR. Therefore the table will no longer contain statistics for over 3-day accidents in the comparison column. 2. For further details see Section 3.7 Cost of accidents to employees. 3. This cost is calculated based on the costs saved by the Council not having the number of days lost in For example, if in 2009/2010 the Council was still losing 4,052 days due to accidents the direct cost would have been 296,522 rather than the actual direct cost of the days lost ( 83,121). Therefore the direct cost avoidance 213, The HSE s incident rate for 2013/2014 is taken to be the same as for 2012/2013 because at the time of writing, the data for 2013/2014 was yet to be published. 5. Accident, violence and aggression and sickness absence data are only shown for five consecutive years (including 2013/2014), historic data from 1997 is available from the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service. 6. The cumulative cost avoidance prior to 2009/2010 were: 2000/2001-7,065; 2001/ ,458; 2002/ ,141; 2003/ ,159; 2004/ ,682; 2005/ ,721; 2006/ ,638; 2007/ ,977; and 2008/ ,400 equating to a total of 1,329,241 for this period and an overall total of 2,654,704 from 2000/2001 to 2012/ Following the change to the RIDDOR regulation, HSE no longer publish national incident rate data for over three day injuries therefore a comparison is not available.

18 Further analysis of the overall accident and incident data indicates the causes and effects of the events. Main cause of accident Number of accidents Slipped, tripped or fell on the same level 77 Hit by a moving, flying or falling object 52 Injured while handling, lifting or carrying 38 Striking a fixed/stationary object 16 Contact moving machinery or material being machined 7 Needlestick or Sharps 6 Hazardous Substances 4 Fell from a height 3 Hit by moving vehicle 2 Injured by an animal 2 Trapped by something collapsing 2 Contact with electricity or an electrical discharge 1 Tools, machinery, equipment 1 Total 211 Figure 6: causes of accidents Figure 6 shows the causes of accidents, from which it can be seen that slips, trips and falls on the same level remain the largest cause of accidents. Part of body injured Number of accidents Upper Limb 76 Lower Limb 52 Back/Trunk 38 Head 29 Multiple Injuries 12 No Injury 4 Total 211 Figure 7: part of body injured in accidents From Figure 7 it can be seen that accidents resulting in injury to the upper limbs make up the largest proportion of the figures. From Figure 8, it can be seen that accidents resulting in bumps/bruising make up the largest proportion of the figures. Type of injury Number of accidents Bump/ Bruising 62 Sprain/ Strain 58 Cut/ Laceration 30 Burn 21 Break/ Fracture 11 No injury/near miss 10 Multiple 8 Foreign Body 8 Bite 2 Dislocation 1 Total 211 Figure 8: type of injury 18

19 Both Figures 7 and 8 show a relatively low number of no injury or near miss accidents. Based on the accident ratios outlined above there this indicatively an under reporting of these types of accident. Therefore opportunities are being lost to investigate these incidents with a view to preventing their recurrence and hence incidents which do result in injury. It is important to remember that the reporting of incidents (i.e. what happened) rather than outcomes (i.e. injury) is key and therefore departments are requested to make additional efforts to both advocate and report near misses. The causes of accidents and the injuries sustained again stress the need for a back to basics approach to accident and incident prevention by the regular inspection of workplaces for hazards and risks and application of the risk control hierarchy. When considering the control measures required the ERCSP hierarchy must be considered by asking: 1. Can the work activity realising the hazards and risks be eliminated? If not, 2. Have the hazards and risks been reduced? If not, 3. Has exposure to the hazards and risks been controlled? If not, 4. Have appropriate safe systems of work been implemented, including safe working procedures and appropriate information, instruction and training? If not, and as a last resort, 5. Has appropriate personal protective equipment been issued? However, albeit that the above control measures must be viewed as a hierarchy suitable and sufficient risk control measures are likely to be a combination of control measures Aggression and violence analysis Violent incidents are defined as: Any intentional acts that cause apprehension, fear, psychological or physical injury to an employee arising out of or in connection with their authorised duties The deliberate damage to the property or belongings of an employee that is attributable to the carrying out of duties on behalf of the Council. The Council s violent incident categories are: physical violence, aggression, verbal, sexual or racial abuse, and intentional damage to property. As with accidents, analysis of the incidence of aggression and violence can be undertaken. The compilation of the figures (Figure 9) shows a decreasing trend in the reported number of violent incidents in 2013/2014, with reported violent incidents decreasing by a total of 45 from 2012/

20 Directorate Reported incidents of violence and aggression Days lost due to incidents of violence and aggression Incident rate per 1,000 employees Adults and Communities Children, Young People and Families Corporate Services Development, Environment and Culture Primary Schools Secondary Schools Through Schools Special Schools Total/Overall Figure 9: incidents of violence and aggression by Directorate Note: no RIDDOR reportable incidents were recorded in 2013/2014 Figure 10, overleaf, highlights the type of incidents that occurred. Figures 11 and 12, again overleaf, then detail the types of injuries that were sustained in these incidents and part of body injured. The above figures show a higher incidence of violent incidents within Adult and Communities, Children, Young People and Families and schools. This disparity reflects the nature of the work carried out. Adults and Communities and Children, Young People and Families employees encounter some of the Council s most challenging clients. However, the nature of the work carried out by Adults and Communities and Children, Young People and Families employees is not an excuse. Providing a front-line service should not lead to violence or aggression. This reiterates the need for an assessment to be carried out on clients of the Council when receiving any service ranging from social care to compulsory education to ascertain their requirements from both the client s and employee s perspective. There is a need for ensuring that the resources available for clients are appropriate to their needs, whilst also ensuring that the safety of employees, who are entrusted with the provision of services for these clients, is not compromised. 20

21 21 Directorate Aggression Harassment Physical violence Sexual harassment Verbal Abuse Intentional Damage to Property Racial Abuse Adults and Communities Children, Young People and Families Corporate Services Development, Environment and Culture Primary Schools Secondary Schools Through Schools Special Schools Total/Overall Figure 10: types of incidents of violence and aggression Part of body injured Number of incidents Type of injury Number of incidents No Injury 105 No Injury 120 Upper Limb 63 Bruise 55 Head 31 Cut/Graze 24 Lower Limb 20 Bite 21 Back/Trunk 19 Sprain / Strain 9 Multiple Injuries 0 Distress 9 Total 238 Total 238 Figure 11: part of body injured in incidents Figure 12: type of injury Total

22 3.1.3 Incident analysis In addition to events that injured or could have injured people, the Council now has the facility and procedures to record the occurrence of incidents that gave or could have given rise to loss or damage to property, plant, products or the environment, production losses or increased liabilities, this not being the result of aggression or violence. The incidents reported during 2013/2014 relate to fire incidents and security incidents (including acts of vandalism to Council property) Safety observation analysis In addition to events that injured or could have injured people, the Council now has the facility and procedures to record the occurrence of situations that could give rise to loss or damage to property, plant, products or the environment, production losses or increased liabilities. A very small number of reports were again made in 2013/2014. Employees may raise concerns verbally or via team meetings thus meaning that the form is not required in many cases. However, this also reiterates the need for the form to be used by employees to raise concerns with their managers where necessary Major injury analysis In 2013/2014 seven major injuries to a Council employee were recorded. The nature of these accidents and the actions taken to prevent its recurence are detailed overleaf. Type of Injury Break/ Fracture to upper limb Break/ Fracture to upper limb Break/ Fracture to upper limb Break/ Fracture to upper limb Cause Circumstances Investigation and actions to prevent recurrence Slip, trip and/or fall Slip, trip and/or fall Slip, trip and/or fall Slip, trip and/or fall Employee was trying to resolve situation of two pupils pushing each other when pupil fell to the ground kicking out resulting in employee being kicked in the ribs. Employee was walking down corridor steps during which tripped and fell down 3 steps and to avoid falling onto a pupil she put her right arm out and landed with arm fully stretched out. Employee slipped/tripped when walking down the steps whilst egressing the building. Employee tripped over metal gate closing device that is fixed to the floor. Employee injured hand when trying to stop themself falling. The risk assessment was reviewed following the accident and information regarding risk control measures was provided to staff. Area was checked for any trip hazards (none were found) and information regarding the risk control measures was provided to staff. Removal of mat located at bottom of stairs removed and indoor mat provided. Metal closing device has since been painted yellow. Break/ Fracture to upper limb Slip, trip and/or fall Employee was walking on the playground and tripped over a flag, falling and landing on their hand. Cone placed on flagstone initially whilst flag was replaced. 22

23 Break/ Fracture to lower limb Fracture to ribs Slip, trip and/or fall Hit by a falling object Slipped on a small plastic construction brick falling to the floor. Employee was going up the hill when they slipped and put their hands down to stop the fall, resulting in landing on their hands. Figure 13: analysis of major injuries The risk assessment was reviewed following the accident and information regarding risk control measures was provided to staff. Suitability of outdoor area checked daily and risk assessment reviewed and checked. 3.2 Work related ill-health As with accidents and incidents it is accepted that the collation of work related ill health statistics can assist in improving health and safety within an organisation. Again statistics regarding work related ill health form part of the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Report. The Council records the reported reasons for employee absences. Of the categories of absence reported it is considered that those concerning musculoskeletal illness and mental/emotional wellbeing issues are most likely to be associated with some aspect of work that is not to state that these illnesses are caused by work but acknowledging that work may either directly or indirectly be associated with the illnesses, which indeed may be wholly attributable to factors outside work. However, regardless of the root cause the issue manifests itself at work and still leads to absence. Figure 14 details the absences reported in 2013/2014 attributed to mental/emotional wellbeing and musculoskeletal issues. This data represents an overall increase in sickness absence reported (see Figure 15 overleaf for comparative data). Stress, which is a strand of mental/emotional wellbeing, is the natural reaction people have to excessive pressures placed on them. While not an illness itself, if it is prolonged or intense, it can lead to mental/emotional and physical ill-health. This can, for example, include depression, back pain or heart disease. Work-related stress can also lead to: An increase in sickness absence A reduction in staff morale Poor staff performance Staff seeking alternative employment. When staff leave, there is then the expense of recruiting, inducting, and training new members of staff. According to the Health and Safety Executive, increased sickness absence can have a domino effect one person goes sick which leads to their workload being shared among the remaining staff. They are unable to cope, which affects their health, and this leads to greater sickness absence. Mental wellbeing issues may (with the usual caveats) fall under the Equality Act 2010, therefore careful consideration needs to be given to implementing appropriate control measures and making reasonable adjustments. 23

24 Days lost per employee Number of absences Total absence days Days lost per employee Number of absences Total absence days Days lost per employee Number of absences Total absence days 24 Directorate Mental/emotional wellbeing Musculoskeletal Overall Adults and Communities 2, , , Children, Young People and Families 4, , , Corporate Services 1, , Development, Environment and Culture 2, , , Public Health Corporate subtotal 11, , , Primary Schools 5, , , Secondary Schools 4, , , Special Schools 1, , Through School Schools subtotal 11, , , Total 23, , ,238 1, / , , ,347 1, Figure 14: Absences reported where the reason for absence was reported as a mental/emotional wellbeing related illness: anxiety, stress, depression, other psychiatric illnesses; and absences reported where the reason for absence was reported as a musculoskeletal related illness: back and other musculoskeletal problems

25 Total number of absences Total absence days Number of absences attributed to musculoskeletal related ill health Total absence days attributed to musculoskeletal related ill health Number of absences attributed to mental/emotional wellbeing related ill health Total absence days attributed to mental/emotional wellbeing related ill health Nationally the numbers of people affected by ill health greatly outweigh those adversely affected by accidents. The data in Figure 12 when compared with those in Section 3.1 support this view. This information reiterates the need to fully support employees throughout their ill health and invest in mechanisms to expedite their return to work for both the benefit of the employer and employee. This information also stresses the need for a back to basics approach to ill health prevention by the application of sound human resources and health and safety principles and provision of rehabilitative processes. Figure 15 below shows the incidences of work-related ill health from 2008/2009 to 2013/2014 and highlights that reductions have been made in both the incidence of and days lost due to mental/emotional wellbeing and musculoskeletal related ill health. Year 2009/ , , ,525 1, / , , ,922 1, / , , ,752 1, / , , ,347 1, / , , ,238 1,746 Figure 15: comparison of absences attributed to mental/emotional wellbeing and musculoskeletal related ill health from 2009/2010 to 2013/ Cost of accidents to and ill health associated with work in employees It is possible to work out the approximate total cost to the Council of days off due to accidents at work in any given period. For 2013/2014 the direct salary cost due to employee absence following accidents at work is: Median salary scale point Add on costs Total Cost to Authority SCP 25 Grade 5 Superannuation and National Insurance 21, ,676 = 27,410 per year Salary, superannuation and National Insurance Therefore: 27,410 / 365 days = average cost per day x 720 lost days = 54,072 From the direct salary cost due to employee absence following accidents at work and the Employer s Liability Insurance and employer s liability claims costs for 2013/2014, the total costs of accidents to the Council can be derived: 25

26 Employee liability claims total (1993 to 2013/2014) (a) = 8,449,106 (858 claims) Employer s liability insurance premium (b) = 74,000 per year Average direct costs per year (c) = 476,338 Direct salary cost 2012/2013 (d) = 54,072 Total of direct costs for 2013/2014 (e) = 530,410 Where: (c) = ((a) / 21 years) + (b) (e) = (c) + (d) However, it is important not to overlook the cost avoidance of reductions in accidents. In 1999 the number of days lost within the Council due to accidents was days. As seen in Figure 5 based on the reductions in days lost made up to 2013/2014 and the average cost per day lost, this now represents an avoidance of 3,332.5 days per year and a direct cumulative cost avoidance of 2,654,704 investment in health and safety does indeed pay dividends. With data regarding days lost due to ill health available it is possible to calculate the cost of ill health and hence an overall cost of accidents and occupationally related ill health within the Council. The known direct salary costs of occupational ill health are: 27,410 / 365 days = average cost per day x 41,238 lost days = 3,096, Risk assessment Risk assessment is a specific legal requirement of health and safety legislation. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations first entered the statute books in 1992 and were subsequently revised in 1999 and include a general duty for employers to carryout risk assessments to identify hazards and risks and determine appropriate control measures. In addition risk assessment is a requirement of a plethora of other specific Regulations. All these Regulations, and in particular Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require the Council as an employer to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to health and safety of: Its employees to which they are exposed whilst at work Persons not in the Council s employment arising out of or in connection with the undertakings of the Council The purpose of the risk assessment is to identify the measures that the Council needs to take to comply with its statutory duties i.e. to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of its employees or others who may be affected by its undertakings. Hence statutory duties require the Council to identify and implement suitable control risks. The Council s internal accident recording form (HS2(E)) Report of an accident to an employee) includes details of the risk assessments that relate to the work activities being undertaken at the time of the accident. The form asks managers and supervisors had a risk assessment been carried out for the activity undertaken prior to the accident? with a simple yes/no response being given. Subsequently the form asks has a risk assessment been reviewed/developed for the activity undertaken after the accident? The response to these questions is logged by the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service and is integral to its accident/incident recording and monitoring function, i.e. was there a risk assessment before the accident and after the accident was this reviewed or as necessary developed? The information provided by managers and supervisors on the HS2(E) form has been collated below in Figure

27 27 Percentage of accidents where, following the accident, a risk assessment was not completed/ reviewed for the activity being undertaken prior to the accident Number of accidents where, following the accident, a risk assessment was not completed/ reviewed for the activity being undertaken prior to the accident Percentage of accidents where, following the accident, a risk assessment was completed/ reviewed for the activity being undertaken prior to the accident Number of accidents where, following the accident, a risk assessment was completed/ reviewed for the activity being undertaken prior to the accident Percentage of accidents where a risk assessment was not indicated as being completed for the activity prior to the accident Number of accidents where a risk assessment was not indicated as being completed for the activity prior to the accident Percentage of accidents where a risk assessment was indicated as being completed for the activity prior to the accident Number of accidents where a risk assessment was indicated as being completed for the activity prior to the accident Directorate Pre-accident Risk Assessment Post-accident Risk Assessment Adult and Communities 21 84% 4 16% 17 68% 8 32% Children, Young People and Families 32 71% 13 29% 12 33% 33 74% Corporate Service % % Development, Environment and Culture 34 92% 3 8% 23 62% 14 38% Corporate subtotal 87 79% 23 21% 52 47% 58 53% Primary Schools 31 60% 20 40% 20 40% 31 60% Secondary Schools 28 67% 14 33% 17 40% 25 60% Special Schools 3 38% 5 62% 3 38% 5 62% Schools subtotal 62 61% 39 39% 40 40% 61 60% Total/Overall % 62 29% 92 44% % 2012/ % 93 44% 72 34% % Figure 16: responses provided to the question had a risk assessment been carried out for the activity undertaken prior to the accident? and the question has a risk assessment been reviewed/developed for the activity undertaken after the accident?

28 The responses provided by managers (Figure 16) indicate that a risk assessment had been undertaken for the work activity being carried out prior to the accident in 71% of incidents reported, a marked increase on the 56% reported in 2012/2013. During 2013/2014 the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service have been actively monitoring the responses given by managers with a view to increasing compliance in this area, and this increase indicates that this has been a successful intervention that will be continued. However, based on the information supplied on the accident form, up to 29% of the accidents reported the activity being carried out at the time of the accident did not have an associated risk assessment or the form was not fully completed by the manager who did not indicate that a risk assessment was actually completed. The reasons for managers/supervisors providing a negative response to questioning regarding the existence of risk assessments remain the same as those reported in past reports: 1. Managers/supervisors do not understand the importance of full and accurate completion of the form (the form becomes a disclosable document in the event of enforcement action or civil proceedings) 2. Time pressures mean that managers/supervisors do not check the existence of the documents 3. Managers/supervisors do not know that the documents exist 4. The documents do not exist In light of the simplicity of the form to complete and the information, instruction and training provided to managers and supervisors on this topic it is considered unlikely that managers and supervisors are providing a negative response due to the reasons in 1 to 3 above. Hence, the figure detailed above is believed by the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service to be indicative of the level of risk assessments that have been carried out within the Council. The consequences of not carrying out risk assessments may include: Prosecution/enforcement action due to breach of statutory duty An increased risk of injury/ill health to employees and others who may be affected by the Council s activities Increased losses to the Council Decreased ability to defend any civil actions brought against the Council 3.5 Enforcement action against the Council During 2013/2014 the Council has not been issued with any formal notices or been the subject of any prosecutions from any of the enforcing authorities, namely the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the Environment Agency or South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service. 3.6 Occupational road risk issues According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), research commissioned by the Health and Safety Executive and others suggests that nationally between 25% and 33% of fatal and serious road traffic incidents involve someone who was at work at the time (between 800 and 1000 people). In 2013/2014 two employee accidents involving vehicles were reported. These figures include all categories of road users drivers, motorcyclists and cyclists as well as pedestrians and those working at the side of the road. Occupation road risk must be managed like any other health and safety issue. 28

29 3.7 Health and safety audits During 2013/2014 the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service has continued to undertake a programme of health and safety audits. All audits carried out by the Service produced a score judged against pre-determined criteria. The scores achieving each category are thus: Grade A good this standard is given to a service/school achieving an audit score of 90% or above. The service/school has achieved a satisfactory standard in managing health and safety with only a few improvements to implement. The service/school will be allowed to monitor their own actions using the online audit management system. Grade B improving this standard is given to a service/school achieving an audit score of between 70% and 90%. The service/school needs to make improvements in its health and safety management system. The Health and Safety Advisor will arrange to revisit the service/school in order to monitor progress with the action plan on a pre-determined basis. Grace C less than satisfactory this standard is given to a service/school achieving an audit score below 70%. The service/school has serious weaknesses in the management of health and safety with significant improvements to be made within six months. Therefore the Health and Safety Advisor will make arrangements to meet with the service/school on a regular basis in order to ensure that it is implementing points from the action plan. When viewing the standards achieved it must be borne in mind that the ultimately acceptable standard of health and safety management must be compliance with the Council s standards for the management of health and safety and hence 100% Health and safety audits of Council services Given the fundamental changes to the Council during 2013/2014 a formal audit programme of services was not undertaken, with the Annual Governance Statement and questionnaire used as a self-audit for services in relation to health and safety and emergency planning. However, a revised audit programme for services will be undertaken in 2014/2015, with a selfaudit in the form of a Managing health and safety at work: Corporate health and safety audit 2014 question-set being circulated to Service Heads in March 2014 which was to be returned to the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service before formal audits commence Health and safety audits of Secondary, Through Schools and Special Schools During 2013/2014 resources for secondary schools has continued to be focussed on the transition from the existing/former to the new BSF school premises and the associated review of existing arrangements. Only two formal audits were carried out of Secondary/Through/Special Schools, however, inspections were carried out at 5 of the 11 premises, in collaboration with the Facilities management organisation Carillion. Additionally, specific, targeted inspections were carried out in most Design and Technology classrooms in response to several national, high profile serious accidents involving machinery and equipment in these areas. Specific Health and Safety Advisors were assigned to each secondary school in order to carry out inductions with the relevant managers, to undertake training and to start working through an action plan of termly monitoring in order for the school to be ready for a formal health and safety audit in the summer term of 2014 which will be reported on the 2014/15 annual report. 29

30 It is also notable that due to the new facility that Secondary Schools have to let the premises for community use, functions and events, a significant amount of time and resources were spent in developing procedures for Event Safety and Management with the Local Education Partnership (LEP) and Strategic Property and Procurement BMBC. Standard Number of audits achieving the standard Percentage of audits achieving the standard Satisfactory 0 0% Improving 2 100% Poor 0 0 Fail 0 0 Total 2 100% Figure 17: results of safety audits of secondary, through schools and special schools Health and safety audits of Primary Schools The audits of primary schools were based upon the requirements of the Council s Occupation Health and Safety Management System. Of the 38 audits carried out the results, 15 schools achieved a score of 100%. Standard Number of audits achieving the standard Percentage of audits achieving the standard Satisfactory 36 95% Improving 2 5% Poor 0 0 Fail 0 0 Total % Figure 18: results of health and safety audits of primary schools From the results of the audits carried out by the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service the top-five recurrent issues highlighted as requiring improvement by primary schools are outlined below in Figure 19 along with the actions taken by the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service to address these issues. However, it must be noted that the majority of these issues need to be, and indeed are, addressed by the immediate implementation of current regimes and that each audit report provides a detailed time-bound action plan for addressing the opportunities for improvement identified. Issue identified by audit 1. Employees who undertake manual handling activities being provided with suitable information, instruction and training on the hazards and risks involved and the appropriate control measures to be implemented including people moving people 2. Relevant employees (e.g. Premises Managers) attending, or been nominated to attend the appropriate health and safety training course (e.g. IOSH Working Safely/BMBC Working Together to be Safe course or equivalent) 3. All risk assessments need to be signed and dated by the 'responsible person' 4. Lone workers need to be identified and risk assessments completed for all work activities where employees may be exposed to lone working situations and these made available to these persons Action to address All schools have been offered appropriate face-to-face or online training via BOLD All schools have been offered appropriate training School management have been reminded of their responsibility to sign risk assessments The Council s standards for lone working are available on the intranet and this has been reiterated to schools 30

31 5. The organisation s Resilience Plan has been completed with relevant contact details and arrangements for the premises and systems put in place to ensure that it is regularly reviewed The Council s template resilience plan is available on the intranet and this has been reiterated to schools Figure 19: issues identified by health and safety audits of primary schools 2013/ Comparison of health, safety and emergency resilience targets with health and safety performance The performance in relation to the targets for 2013/2014 set by the Corporate Health and Safety Policy is outlined below: 1. All Directorates, Divisions and Service s will implement the Council s Occupational Health and Safety Management System to a standard that would meet the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service s Satisfactory rating upon audit. Ninety percent of audits completed during the period achieved the satisfactory rating. 2. All Divisions and Services will complete the Corporate Health and Safety Performance Audit 2012/2013. All Divisions undertook the annual governance statement audit process. The conclusion of this was that, pending the results of the audit programme to begin in summer 2014, based on the responses of departments it was not necessary to undertake a detailed review of the health, safety and emergency resilience function. 3. Each Directorate, Division and Service will produce all required occupation group risk assessments. Based on the analysis of accidents in Section 3.3 above, this has still not been fully achieved albeit that compliance has increased in 2013/2014, thus necessitating further work by the departments. 4. Each Directorate, Division and Service will have an action plan to implement the health and safety competencies detailed in Section 8 of the Corporate Health and Safety Policy. The Council s Performance and Development Review process includes aspects of health and safety training and competence. Furthering information on the implementation of performance and development reviews is available from Human Resources. 3.9 Awards presented to the Council in recognition of its health, safety and emergency resilience performance The Council has progressively improved its health and safety performance over the last 14 years. In recognition of this the Council was awarded a prestigious International Safety Award, by the British Safety Council In addition the Council again achieved the higher level Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) President s Award for Occupational Health and Safety

32 4 Overview of the service delivery of the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service 4.1 Introduction/service context The year 2013/2014 has seen further efficiencies affecting the service delivery of the Service. These efficiencies have both reduced the staffing level within the Service and scope of services provided. In short the Service no longer: Provides bulk noise and vibration assessment for departments which use large numbers of portable work equipment. Assessments will currently still be undertaken for fixed work equipment/workplaces and ad-hoc assessments however, the regular need for the assessment of scores of items of equipment is not fulfilled by the Service, with this function now needing to be sourced separately by departments. Undertake assessments under the Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme (CHAS) except in the case of Barnsley based organisations with less than 5 employees. Therefore organisations wishing to undertake work for/on behalf of the Council need to approach directly any of the members of the Safety Schemes in Procurement (SSIP) scheme to gain the necessary approvals prior to undertaking this work. In addition the Service does not now have any remit with regard to general occupational health and employee wellbeing and events safety (other than with regard to general health and safety advice and emergency preparedness) with the latter fulfilled by Economy, Culture and Housing. Staffing reductions within the Service have not, other than that described above, reduced the breadth of the services provided but have reduced the capacity with which to deliver these services to the same frequency. This may lead to increased risks due to reduced access to advice and therefore emphasises the need for departments to dovetail service provision and appropriate and reasonable standards of health and safety. Notably from October 2013 the responsibility for general occupational health matters is no longer lie with the Service. However, the Service will continue to facilitate and co-ordinate the provision of statutory health surveillance albeit that this will from April 2014 be directly funded by the departments who need the health surveillance. The Council s ongoing budget situation does not discount the possibility of future further reductions in either the breadth of service delivery or service capacity all this will lead to difficult questions regarding what the Council expects from this Service and what it is able to deliver. It is essential, therefore, that the fundamental improvement in the Council s health and safety performance an improvement in the welfare of the Council s staff and a reduction in suffering as a result of accidents and ill health must not be overlooked. The Council operates and more importantly, is able to operate in a manner which dovetails service provision and appropriate and reasonable standards of health and safety. 4.2 Work programme and initiatives for 2013/2014 During 2013/2014 the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service has worked to improve the health, safety and welfare of the Council s employees and others who may be affected by the Council s activities. The work of the Service is both active (i.e. planned and programmed) and reactive (i.e. responding to the needs of its customers). In addition to the reactive projects undertaken by the Service, active objectives implemented in 2013/2014 were to: 1. Maintain of delivery of health, safety and emergency resilience services to the Council s external partners 32

33 2. Maintain the BS 18001:2007 accreditation for the development and maintenance and subsequent application of the Council s occupational health and safety management system through an external audit in November The latest audit (which will be repeated in October 2014) concluded that: The activities and processes considered during the course of the assessment were found to be effectively undertaken in accordance with the requirements of BS and your management system. Continued certification is, consequently, confirmed. There were no outstanding nonconformities to review from previous assessments. No new nonconformities were identified during the assessment. 3. Deliver the information, instruction and training programme discussed in 4.3 below 4. Deliver the audit and inspection programme discussed in 3.7 above 5. Deliver the fire risk assessment programme 6. Resilience arrangements (including business continuity) During 2013 a major review of resilience within the Council took place which encompassed Gold and Silver Team documentation and procedures. The overarching Corporate Resilience Plan was re-designated as the BMBC Resilience Plan and totally re-written to incorporate all of the latest legislative requirements and drawing upon best practice and knowledge gained from multi-agency working within the South Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum. This plan was supplemented with a new stand-alone Contacts Document and bespoke Gold and Silver Response Packs. The Silver Team was also expanded in number to ensure that all Directorates/Services had a broad spread of trained managers to cope during a prolonged incident and a continuous two-monthly training programme was put in place to ensure their knowledge and skills base in this subject were maintained. The Gold Team began an on-call rota to ensure that a strategic level steer could be obtained out of hours if required for major incident activation. The Service continued to promote the Corporate Business Continuity Template to all Directorates which is based on the European Standard for business continuity. This template has also been introduced in slightly modified form to Schools within the borough. Another business continuity related project has been the promotion of such systems to Residential Care Homes within the area which has included presentations to local forums and site visits to the homes for Managers to assist in the design and implementation of a standard template document for such businesses. Throughout late 2013 and steadily ramping up in early 2014 was the Council s preparation for the Tour de France (TdF) coming to Yorkshire in July. The Service became an increasingly important part of the overall planning as the TdF organisers decided to adopt the command and control principles of the Gold and Silver Structure within Emergency Planning. The Service wrote the overall Concept of Operations in preparation for BMBC s running of the event on the day. During early March 2014 the Service responded to a large scale incident in the Penistone area which involved an extensive collection of munitions (some live ) within a deceased arms collectors dwelling. This involved the co-ordination of many Council services and multiagency working including liaison staff being based close to the incident working with South Yorkshire Police, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, Yorkshire Ambulance Service and the Army Explosive Ordinance Division. This operation included undertaking an evacuation of 150 residents overnight which included the Council providing hotel accommodation and transport for some displaced residents. 33

34 Availability of information for all Council responders was given priority and a new internet based secure database for document storage was launched initially for the Silver Team. This system is the BMBC Resilience ANT System and is available independently from the Council s servers giving extra resilience and readily available plans and procedure wherever there is web access. To compliment this system a new BMBC Intranet Site was launched to enable all Council staff access to relevant BMBC related information. 7. Collaborative working As one of the eight core partners in South Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum officers of the Service are Deputy Chairman of the Local Resilience Forum Business Management Group (the tactical group supporting the strategic level Local Resilience Forum); and Deputy Chairman of the Local Resilience Forum Risk Assessment and Planning Group (which leads production of the Community Risk Register). The Service also actively supports all other sub-groups of the Local Resilience Forum fulfilling the Council s statutory duties under the Civil Contingencies Act The Service also represents South Yorkshire at the Yorkshire and the Humber and North East Regional Lifeline Services Group which brings together representatives from seven Local Resilience Forums and utilities and transport providers. During 2013/2014 the Service has continued and extended its good neighbour activities to promote health and safety on a local and regional level. To consult, engage and undertake active competence building involvement in health, safety and emergency resilience matters, the Service has supported the Local Government Association Yorkshire and Humber Health and Safety Officers Group (and sub-groups). 8. Emergency resilience training and exercising To coincide with the launch of the launch of the BMBC Resilience Plan a continuous twomonthly Silver Team training programme was instigated. The first three sessions were very well attended and the Service will continue to endeavour to develop the knowledge and skills of the Silver Team to ensure that they are prepared for incidents that disrupt the day to day running of the Council. A large scale table top Town Centre Evacuation Exercise was organised and run by the Service in January 2014 which was attended by a large proportion of town centre businesses, organisations and the emergency services. The scenario was based around a mid-air collision which resulted in two aircraft crashing in the Market area causing fatalities and mass casualties. The Exercise was very well received and it will be repeated in early 2015 with another equally testing and topical scenario. Throughout 2013 the Service presented (along with the other three South Yorkshire local authorities) at many South Yorkshire Police training sessions. The scheduled sessions took place at Barnsley and Rotherham locations and were to raise awareness of what the Council contribution can be during major incidents and were aimed attended by all constables and sergeants within South Yorkshire as part of their overall Streetskills training. In October 2013 the Service worked in conjunction with their Doncaster MBC counterparts to deliver joint training to each of their Gold (Strategic) level teams. The main aim of this session was to give a greater understanding of current risks to the community, what the council response can be and the strategic expectations of these officers within the South Yorkshire response structure. 34

35 Total External Academy Schools Through Schools Schools (Special) Schools (Primary) Schools (Secondary) Public Health Development, Environment and Culture Children, Young People and Families Corporate Services Adults and Communities Throughout 2013/2014 many of the Gold and Silver Team members represented BMBC at large scale South Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum Exercises. These included: Exercise Rutland reservoir inundation resulting in a large scale dam burst starting in Barnsley and affecting most of South Yorkshire Exercise Volunteer A sports vent related live incident incorporating Council staff working in unison with the voluntary sector to alleviate panic and provide comfort and welfare to victims caught up in such an incident Exercise Flux Sheffield based reception centre exercise looking at how the community are looked after by the Council when evacuated from their homes The Service took part in all the planning process and multi-agency group work for the above events which provided very real and essential experience for the BMBC staff that took part. 4.3 Health and safety training One of the most useful tools in improving health, safety and emergency resilience performance is the provision of information, instruction and training. This provision is not only desirable but also a legal requirement under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and the Civil Contingencies Act Details of the health and safety training provided by the Service is shown in Figure 20. A total of 2,208 employees attended a wide variety of training courses delivered by the Service (in addition 117 external employees attended these courses). The Service is accredited by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) to deliver its Managing and Working Safely courses. Since their beginning, a total of 3,637 employees attended and successfully passed these assessed courses, many of which were funded with the generous support of the Council s Risk Management Group and for which the Service offers its gratitude. It is important that the Council invests in training, albeit recognising that this provision is only one of a plethora of measures required to improve health, safety and emergency resilience performance. In total the number of Council employees achieving a demonstrable level of competence by successfully completing an IOSH accredited training course provided by the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service are: Managing Safely 950, and Working Safely 2,684 equating to around 42% of the Council s workforce. In 2013/2014 the Service trained or facilitated the training of 2,208 of the Council s employees (approximately 26%, maintaining the percentage from 2012/2013). This equates to around 0.26 days health and safety training per employee. However, it must be noted that these figures do not include health and safety related training provided internally by Directorates, Divisions and Services such as induction and job specific (e.g. scaffolding erection) training. Course Evac Chair Fire awareness IOSH Managing

36 Total External Academy Schools Through Schools Schools (Special) Schools (Primary) Schools (Secondary) Development, Environment and Culture Children, Young People and Families Corporate Services Adults and Communities Safely 0 3 IOSH Managing Safely Recertification IOSH Working Safely Hand Arm Vibration Awareness Manual handling Risk assessment Total , ,231 Figure 20: training delivered by the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service During 2013/2014 the Service also developed a Manual Handling online training course for the Barnsley Online Training and Development (BOLD) system which all staff are able to access to undertake a short course at their own workstation. Course Fire Awareness Stress Management Display Screen Equipment Manual Handling Local Resilience Forum Business Continuity Total Figure 21: training delivered by the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service through BOLD 4.4 Provision of occupational health services Notably during 2013/2014 the occupational health function transferred into the newly formed Employee Wellbeing Team within Human Resources. During 2013/2014 the total workload output was 3,609 contacts and health screenings (Figure 22 overleaf). The total number of contacts with the occupational health providers was 859 for general occupational health issues and 228 for counselling ( contacts refers to the number of contacts with employees not the number of employees seen, i.e. some employees may have been contacted on several occasions, particularly in respect of counselling), with statutory health surveillance and pre-employment health 36

37 Total contacts Number of preemployment health screenings Number of counselling contacts Number of statutory health surveillance contacts (2) Number of management referral contacts screening forming the remaining 934 and 1,588 actions respectively. Services are only provided to schools which purchase their human resources services from the Council. Previous efficiencies within Human Resources mean that occupational health services are now procured from a variety of external providers, with the principal provider being Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Hence this data refers to occupational health services commissioned rather than provided by Human Resources. Undertaking statutory health surveillance programmes for audiometry, spirometry, hand-arm vibration screening and immunisation programmes for Hepatitis B have been a high priority to ensure that the Council meets its statutory duty in relation to the risk identified. Non-attendee s continue to disrupt planned health surveillance programmes, management referrals for sickness absence and ill health issues. Those who do not contact the Team to change their appointments increase the workload and cause inefficiencies Origin of occupational health referrals Figure 22 below details the source and type of referrals to/contacts with occupational health: Directorate Adult and Communities Children, Young People and Families Corporate Services Development, Environment and Culture Public Health Primary Schools Secondary Schools Special Schools External(1) Total ,588 4,195 Figure 22: origin of occupational health referrals (1) External referrals are generated by bodies with links with the Council e.g. South Yorkshire Joint Secretariat, Berneslai Homes (2) Statutory health surveillance refers to health surveillance undertaken in line with legal requirements such as hand-arm vibration screening, audiometry and lung-function testing. The Service s performance indicator for initial referrals to be seen within 4 weeks has been met in 28.9% of initial referrals highlighting that there is an important balance to be struck between the cost of the service and its ability to deliver that service in a suitable timescale. Figure 23 details who undertook the referrals received during the contact period. Non-attendees (i.e. employees who failed to or could not attend their appointment) accounted for 67 (7.8%, a decrease on the 10.3% in 2012/2013) contacts (6.9% did not attend, 0.9% could not attend). The 37

38 Total Could not attend nurse Could not attend physician Did not attend nurse Did not attend physician Nurse telephone consultation Nurse Physician telephone consultation Physician difference between did not and could not attend being that those who could not attend contacted the Service to let them know of their non-attendance, did not attend is simply a failure to attend an appointment without any explanation. As outline above, the services of the Service are finite and those referred to the Service and their managers must make every effort to ensure that those referred attend for their contact. Directorate Adult and Communities Children, Young People and Families Corporate Services Development, Environment and Culture Public Health Primary Schools Secondary Schools Special Schools External Total / Figure 23: occupational health contacts by practitioner See Section for details of counselling services Pre-employment health screening During 2013/2014 the transition to the revised online pre-employment process was completed. During the year fitness clearance of pre-employment health declarations totalled 1,588 an increase of 41 on 2012/2013. The key performance indicator, of clearance within 3 working days, was achieved in 99.94% of assessments, with around 78.1% being automatically completed on-line. This equates to saving around 310 hours (around 8 weeks) per annum of nurse time. Figure 22 above details the source of pre-employment health screenings Occupational health service elements Figure 24 overleaf details the services provided by the Occupational Health Unit in 2013/ Counselling service During 2013/ people were seen for counselling. A referral for counselling typically 38

39 Pre-employment face-to-face assessment Pension (form 6 medical) Management referral - sickness absence Management referral - general Vaccination - hepatitis B Spirometry School crossing patrol assessment Night worker assessment Hand-arm vibration screening Driver medical Audiometry Asbestos involves six sessions of counselling. The total counselling provision for 2013/2014 is 814 sessions (see Figure 22 above). Of the contacts seen, in only 37 employees was a clear work related issue identified however, the impact of work-related issues on personal issues and vice-versa may be indistinct and cannot be estimated. Directorate Health surveillance Management referrals Total Adult and Communities Children, Young People and Families Corporate Services Development, Environment and Culture Public Health Primary Schools Secondary Schools Special Schools External Total , / ,478 Figure 24: Occupational health services commissioned 4.5 Health, safety and emergency resilience services to external organisations under service level agreements The Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service has a service level agreement (SLA) with Berneslai Homes, Selby District Council (which ended in March 2014), and NPS(Barnsley). In addition, the Service provides a service to various academy, voluntary aided and trust schools within the borough. Reflecting the changing nature of education provision within England, it is expected that this will expand over the coming years. The services provided under the service level agreements during 2013/2014 are broadly the same as that provided to the Council. It is expected that during 2014/2015 and beyond, the provision of services to external bodies will increasingly form part of the Service s service provision and this area of work will undoubtedly expand. 39

40 4.6 Work programme and initiatives for 2014/2015 During 2014/2015 the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service will work to improve the health, safety and welfare and resilience of the Council and its employees and others who may be affected by the Council s activities. The work of the Service will continue to be both active (i.e. planned and programmed) and reactive (i.e. responding to the needs of its customers). Active initiatives outlined in the Service s Service Delivery Plan 2014/2015 are in the broad areas of: 1. Provision of a competent person advisory service which supports the Council s compliance with the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and subordinate legislation 2. Auditing and monitoring the performance of departments, schools and contractors 3. Providing the first-point-of-contact with regard to civil contingencies emergencies and support with/following accidents and incidents These are planned to be achieved by: 1. Maintaining accreditation to BS18001:2007 for the Health, Safety and Emergency Resilience Service s development and maintenance and subsequent application of the Council s corporate occupational health and safety management system 2. Implementation the audit and inspection and fire risk assessment programme for premises, services and schools 3. Implementation of the training and exercising programme for services and individual managers and employees 4. Supporting services and schools in relation to accidents and incidents 5. Monitoring contractors working for or on behalf of the Council 6. Providing advice and guidance to services and schools 7. Continuing to develop the Council s internal and multi-agency emergency resilience plans and capabilities 8. Continuing to support the working of South Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum 40

41 5 Finance, Property and Information Services support and performance with regard to health, safety and emergency resilience 5.1 Support for health, safety and emergency resilience initiatives The process of risk management involves the identification, analysis and economic control of all risks that threaten the assets or objectives of the Council. The Council s Risk Management Section has supported initiatives aimed at improving the health and safety performance and emergency resilience of the Council during 2013/2014 and this has included collaborative working on risk issues. 5.2 Employers liability claims 2013/14 During 2013/14 the Council received a total of 61 employers liability claims, which represents an increase on the 50 claims that were received in 2012/13. Figure 25 shows the annual number of claims received over the last 5 years. The graph illustrates that there has been an upward trend in the total number of claims received over the period. Figure 25: Employers Liability Claims 2009/2010 to 2013/14 Of the 61 claims reported during 2013/14, 21 have resulted from accidents in the workplace with the remaining 40 being industrial disease claims. The total estimated cost of the reported in year claims was 909,000, split 387,000 and 522,000 between accidents and disease claims respectively. This represents an overall increase of 363,000 over total reserved costs established in 2012/13. 41

42 Figure 26 below provides an analysis of claims over the various directorates: 46% of reported claims relate to the Development, Environment and Culture Directorate, which is a very slight increase on 2012/13. Children, Young People and Families account the next largest share with 28%, a decrease over 2012/13. Figure 26: Distribution of Employers Liability Claims 2012 to 2013 Inclusive of the 2013/14 movements, the Council currently have 98 ongoing employers liability claims with total estimated reserves of 2,007,000. Of these claims 31 have resulted from accidents, 64 from industrial diseases and 3 from alleged stress/assault. Figure 27 shows a breakdown of these claims by source, with a further split of disease claims by type. Over 50% of outstanding claims relate to noise induced hearing loss (NIHL). Disease - hand-arm vibration syndrome 5% Disease - vibration white finger 3% Disease - asbestosis & Other 4% Accidents 33% Disease - noise induced hearing loss 52% Other 3% Figure 27: Analysis of ongoing employers liability claims by type. 42