Three North East workers lose their lives at work

Policy Release

Date:

30 June 2010

Release No:

NE/187/10

Three workers were killed at work in the North East between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2010, according to new figures released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) today.

This is compared to an average of eight work-related deaths in the past five years in the region, and nine fatal injures in 2008/09.

Across Britain, the number of people killed at work has fallen to a new record low with 151 workers dying at work in 2009/10 - down 15 per cent on the previous lowest total of 178 in the year before.

The North East's top health and safety official, Pam Waldron, Head of Operations, said:

"It is heartening to see such a reduction in the number of work-related deaths across the North East, but it is still unacceptable that three people failed to return home from work last year.

"Many of these deaths could have been avoided if simple and sensible precautions had been in place, and if workers were more involved in devising the solutions to reduce risks.

"We will continue to promote a sensible approach to health and safety and take action to improve standards of risk management in the workplace."

Judith Hackitt, the HSE Chair, said:

"It's really very encouraging to see a further fall in workplace fatalities in the past year. This is performance which owes much to good practice, leadership and employee engagement. No doubt the recession has resulted in lower levels of activity in some sectors and a decrease in the numbers of new inexperienced recruits has also contributed to this fall in fatalities.

"Being one of the best health and safety performers in the world means continuing to strive to drive these numbers down further - not getting complacent about what we've collectively achieved and recognising the new challenges as we emerge from the recession.

"As with all health and safety statistics, today's announcement is a combination of encouraging news about improvement but also a salutary reminder of the tragedies of lives lost at work."

Notes to editors

1. HSE is Britain's national regulator for workplace safety and health. It aims to reduce injuries and illness in the workplace.
2. Further information on workplace statistics can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/statistics
3. In each of the last five years, the number of fatal injuries in the North East has been:
   • 2008/09 - 9
   • 2007/08 - 7
   • 2006/07 - 7
   • 2005/06 - 11
   • 2004/05 - 7
4. The reporting of health and safety incidents at work is a statutory requirement, set out under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR). A reportable incident includes: a death or major injury; any accident which does not result in major injury, but the injured person still has to take three or more days off their normal work to recover; a work related disease; a member of the public being injured as a result of work related activity and taken to hospital for treatment; or a dangerous occurrence, which does not result in a serious injury, but could have done.
5. Provisional figures for the number of fatal workplace injuries sustained across Great Britain in 2009/10 are as follows:
   • South West - 18
   • South East -14
   • London - 11
   • East - 8
   • East Midlands - 13
   • West Midlands - 10
   • Yorkshire - 22
   • North West - 19
   • North East - 3
   • Wales - 7
   • Scotland - 23
   • Not known - 3

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Issued on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive by COI News & PR (North East)