Fresh warning after worker killed in Surrey

Date:

30 December 2011

Release No:

HSE/COISE

Statistics available for local authority areas (See Notes to editors)

One person lost their life while at work in Surrey last year and 324 suffered a major injury, according to the latest statistics.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a fresh warning about workplace safety after the number of deaths rose across Great Britain in 2010/11. It is urging employers to make the safety of workers their top priority for 2012, and is reminding them of their legal responsibility to ensure lives are not put at risk.

A total of 171 people were killed at work in Great Britain last year, compared to 147 deaths during 2009/10. More than 24,700 workers also suffered a major injury in 2010/11.

The death and 324 major injuries in Surrey compare to one death and 402 major injuries in 2009/10. Another 1,142 workers suffered an injury or ill health which required them to take at least three days off work in 2010/11, compared to 1,177 in 2009/10.

The latest provisional figures show that, on average, six in every million workers were killed while at work between April 2010 and March 2011.

High-risk industries include construction which had 50 deaths last year, agriculture with 34 deaths, and waste and recycling with nine deaths, making up more than half of all workplace deaths in Great Britain during 2010/11.

HSE's Mike Walters, Principal Inspector in the South East, said:

"The family of the worker in Surrey who lost their life last year had to face Christmas without them. Hundreds of other workers have had their lives changed forever by a major injury.

"These statistics highlight why we need good health and safety in British workplaces. Employers should spend their time tackling the real dangers that workers face rather than worrying about trivial risks or pointless paperwork.

"It's important to remember that we still have one of the lowest rates of workplace deaths in Europe, but one death is still one too many. I'd urge businesses to help cut the number of deaths in 2012."

Information on tackling health and safety dangers in workplaces is available on HSE's website at www.hse.gov.uk.

Notes to editors

1. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice; promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice; and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk
2. The following table lists the numbers of deaths and injuries across the South East during 2010/11 and 2009/10. Three-day injuries are injuries where workers had to take three or more days off work to recover.
   
   

   Reported injuries by Geography, Time Period and Severity.
   South East		Incidence Count
   		2010/11p			2009/10
   		All Injury Severities			All Injury Severities
   		Fatal injuries	Major injuries	Over-3-day injuries	Fatal injuries	Major injuries	Over-3-day injuries
   East Sussex	Brighton & Hove	-	76	282	-	78	339
   	Eastbourne	-	26	138	-	46	131
   	Hastings	-	30	82	1	31	109
   	Lewes	-	47	106	-	41	126
   	Rother	-	22	62	-	31	71
   	Wealden	-	47	118	1	55	129
   	Total	-	248	788	2	282	905
   Hampshire	Basingstoke Deane	-	71	256	-	79	315
   	East Hampshire	2	33	105	-	36	110
   	Eastleigh	-	53	185	-	47	191
   	Fareham	-	45	146	-	45	119
   	Gosport	-	21	66	-	35	83
   	Hart	-	23	66	-	21	59
   	Havant	-	46	115	-	29	117
   	New Forest	-	60	199	-	76	195
   	Portsmouth	-	114	323	-	120	364
   	Rushmoor	-	33	89	-	43	109
   	Southampton	1	103	433	1	124	410
   	Test Valley	-	37	147	1	53	184
   	Winchester	-	57	171	-	74	202
   	Total	3	696	2,301	2	782	2,458
   Isle of Wight	Isle of Wight	1	53	177	-	73	171
   	Total	1	53	177	-	73	171
   Kent	Ashford	-	55	154	-	70	163
   	Canterbury City	-	57	195	-	62	244
   	Dartford	-	47	187	-	55	166
   	Dover	1	40	132	-	49	166
   	Gravesham	1	34	102	-	36	102
   	Maidstone	-	81	172	-	72	233
   	Medway Towns	1	130	326	-	108	335
   	Sevenoaks	-	32	114	-	49	97
   	Shepway	1	41	105	-	33	107
   	Swale	-	72	235	1	70	265
   	Thanet	-	38	142	-	44	148
   	Tonbridge & Malling	-	56	199	-	66	226
   	Tunbridge Wells	-	51	140	-	53	144
   	Total	4	734	2,203	1	767	2,396
   Berkshire	Bracknell Forest	-	40	142	-	42	197
   	Reading	1	66	256	-	77	230
   	Slough	-	63	221	1	61	223
   	West Berkshire	1	70	242	-	86	237
   	Windsor and Maidenhead	-	45	129	-	53	172
   	Wokingham	-	32	97	-	40	116
   	Total	2	316	1,087	1	359	1,175
   Oxfordshire	Cherwell District	-	89	222	-	90	242
   	Oxford City	1	84	340	1	74	330
   	South Oxfordshire	-	43	115	-	54	136
   	Vale of White Horse	-	44	134	-	63	148
   	West Oxfordshire	-	55	118	-	53	129
   	Total	1	315	929	1	334	985
   Surrey	Elmbridge	1	29	98	-	50	99
   	Epsom & Ewell	-	21	73	-	12	71
   	Guildford	-	45	156	-	62	140
   	Mole Valley	-	19	79	-	28	91
   	Reigate & Banstead	-	39	185	-	50	186
   	Runnymede	-	31	93	-	43	121
   	Spelthorne	-	26	91	-	27	101
   	Surrey Heath	-	29	98	-	37	115
   	Tandridge	-	27	79	-	21	67
   	Waverley	-	42	112	1	44	102
   	Woking	-	16	78	-	28	84
   	Total	1	324	1,142	1	402	1,177
   West Sussex	Adur District	-	15	61	-	26	68
   	Arun District	-	56	144	1	50	126
   	Chichester	-	81	141	-	65	164
   	Crawley	-	82	369	-	71	422
   	Horsham	-	33	120	1	36	123
   	Mid Sussex	1	44	127	-	42	143
   	Worthing	-	28	108	-	33	123
   	Total	1	339	1,070	2	323	1,169
   Buckinghamshire	Aylesbury Vale	-	76	232	-	69	250
   	Chiltern District	-	24	78	-	23	80
   	Milton Keynes	1	121	540	2	129	559
   	South Bucks	-	20	73	1	26	84
   	Wycombe	-	59	165	-	52	125
   	Total	1	300	1,088	3	299	1,098
   South East Total		14	3,325	10,785	13	3,621	11,534

3. A list of the deaths reported to HSE during 2010/11 is available at www.hse.gov.uk/foi/fatalities/2010-11.htm. The information is updated on a monthly basis, and does not purport to be a formal statistical release. Subsequent investigation may determine that some are not reportable as workplace deaths, for example deaths due to natural causes.
4. Further information on workplace statistics can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/statistics.
5. Based on available data (2007), Britain has the lowest rate of fatal injuries to workers among the five leading industrial nations in Europe - Great Britain, Germany, France, Spain and Italy.
6. 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.
7. The figures for 2010/11 are provisional. They will be finalised in June 2012 following any necessary adjustments arising from investigations, in which new facts can emerge about whether the accident was work-related. The delay of a year in finalising the figures allows for such matters to be fully resolved in the light of formal interviews with all relevant witnesses, forensic investigation and coroners' rulings.
8. This year is the first year HSE has adopted the revised SIC 2007 classification codes More information is available on HSE Website http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/developments/news/sic2007.htm.

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Issued on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive by COI News & PR South East