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This page provides the latest news and advice on current Health and Safety issues together with information about the latest courses and consultancy services offered by Acorn.
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Please come and visit us on stand 43 at the the Business Show Bristol 2010 with Ruby Wax.
GWE Business West's popular business to business exhibition and networking event returns to Bristol on 15th September at Leigh Court.
Delegates can look forward to an extensive seminar programme, with keynote speaker Ruby Wax confirmed to speak on 'Leadership through Communication'. Also, a broad showcase of 100 exhibitors from a range of business sectors, speed networking sessions and a conference café for networking, refreshment and one to one meetings. The show will run from 9am till 4pm and provides free parking.
To book a stand or to register to attend with free entry, visit www.businessshowbristol.co.uk for details.
As part of our 10th Anniversary celebrations all of our April open courses held at our Warmley Training Centre are now buy one get one free saving up to £185 per booking!
Places are strictly limited to one per customer and subject to availability. For more information call us on 0845 257 1231 or email info@acornsafety.co.uk
Visit our Archive of First Aid News and Advice
From October 2009 First Aid Training is changing, don't slip up.......
As a result of a review of the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981, the Health and Safety Executive is bringing about changes to the requirements for provision of first aid in the workplace. The date for implementation of these changes is 1st October 2009.
Now that summer appears to have arrived and the barbecue has been dusted off, make sure that you are not putting yourself or your friends and family in danger, but if an accident should happen, make sure you are prepared and know what to do.
The following incident was reported in the Coventry Telegraph on 11th June 2008
A six-year-old boy suffered serious burns to his bottom after he sat on a lit barbecue in a small village in South Warwickshire on Tuesday (10th June 2008).
The Paramedic who attended said “The boy was understandably very upset. The Community First Responder (who was at the barbecue) and the boys mother took the youngster to the shower and hosed the affected area with cold running water.”
“I would like to pay tribute to the CFR and the mother who did exactly the right thing, not only did they remain calm, they gave the lad the right treatment.”
“It is an important lesson to learn; if you suffer a serious burn from something like a barbecue, make sure you keep cold running water on the affected area.”
Figures from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) suggest that in a hot summer around 1,400 people in the UK will go to hospital as the result of barbecue accidents.
Their spokesperson, Roger Vincent warned, “A lot of these will be minor burns, but there can be more serious incidents. There have some horrendous cases over the years of people using petrol or meths to get the barbecue going, which then blows right up.
“Bear in mind the coals will be extremely hot even hours after you have finished using it. You could be relaxing with a glass of wine, or chatting to your neighbour over the fence, while a child clatters into the barbecue and knocks it down.”
First Aid for Burns
1. Cool the burn immediately with cold (preferably running) water for at least
10 minutes
2. If water is not available, any cold harmless liquid (e.g. milk) is better
than no
cooling at all. Do this first then move quickly to a water supply to continue
cooling the burn.
3. Remove any constricting items such as rings and watches, because the area may
start to swell.
4. Carefully remove loose clothing, taking care that it’s not stuck to the burn.
5. Leave clothing in place if you’re not sure that it’s loose.
6. After cooling, dress the burn with a sterile dressing that won’t stick to the
burn. Cling film is one of the best dressings for a burn – the inside of the
roll should be sterile, and will not stick to the burn.
Do not wrap the burn tightly.
Seek medical advice if:
• Any blistering is larger than 1 inch square
• The casualty is a child
• The burn goes all the way around a limb
• Any part of the burn appears to be full thickness
• The burn involves hands, feet, genitals or the face
• You are in any doubt as to the severity of the burn
To learn more about First Aid look at the courses available on our website at
www.acornsafety.co.uk
Nigel Braybrooke
First Aid Training Consultant
Visit our Archive of Food Safety News and Advice
Now that the sun has put its hat on, an expedition has been made into the nether
regions of the shed or garage and the barbecue has been located and dusted off,
how do we ensure that the food we cook is safe for our family and friends to
eat.
Undercooked meat on home barbecues has long been associated with the rise in
food poisoning cases in the summer months.
When you’re barbecuing, the biggest risk is from raw and undercooked meat.
Bugs such as E. coli 0157, salmonella and campylobacter can cause serious
illness.
Simple steps can be taken to ensure that you, your family and friends, can enjoy
your hospitality and take nothing home with them that could make them seriously
ill.
These steps include;
• Waiting until the charcoal is glowing red, with a powdery grey surface, before
you start to cook.
• Make sure frozen food is properly thawed before you cook it.
• Turn the food regularly, and move it around the barbecue, to cook it evenly.
• Check that the centre of the food is piping hot and that any juices are
running out clear.
• Don’t assume that if meat is charred on the outside that it will be cooked
properly on the inside.
This, and further information on safe barbecuing, including an on-line quiz, can
be found on the Food Standards Agency website at:
www.eatwell.gov.uk/keepingfoodsafe/partiesandevents/barbecues/
or for information on food safety in the South Gloucestershire area go to
www.southglos.gov.uk and follow the links to the food safety page.
Nigel Braybrooke
Food Safety Training Consultant
Visit our Archive of Health and Safety News and Advice
Article added 13.7.10
A BUTCHER has been fined by magistrates after being found guilty of breaching food safety regulations.
Ivor Stevens, of Thirlmere Court, Congleton, was ordered to pay £500 plus £2,700 costs when he appeared before Macclesfield Magistrates' Court yesterday.
Stevens, who owns Stevens Butchers in The Village, Prestbury, had pleaded not guilty to an offence under The Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2006.
Cheshire East Council environmental health officers visited Stevens's premises in July 2009.
They found raw meat was being stored in an under-counter refrigerator, which was dirty and blood-splattered, alongside ready-to-eat foods including cooked meat and sandwich fillings.
Environmental health officer Elizabeth Bowler told the court this presented a serious risk of cross-contamination, which could result in food poisoning such as E.Coli.
Stevens was ordered to dispose of the ready-to-eat foods immediately. But when officers returned a few days later, they found he was still storing these foods in a dirty under-counter refrigerator alongside raw meat.
The raw meat had been separated from the cooked meat with cardboard.
Officers took a quantity of ready-to-eat foods and gave Stevens a food condemnation warning notice. The food was destroyed after magistrates granted the council a food condemnation order.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Source: The Sentinal
What penalties can be imposed for breaching Food Safety Regulations
The courts decide the level of penalties depending on the circumstances of each case, but the Food Safety Act 1990 sets the maximum penalties available to the courts.
For offences in England and Wales Crown courts may send offenders to prison for up to two years and/or impose unlimited fines.
Magistrates' courts may impose a fine of up to £5,000 per offence and/or a prison sentence of up to six months.
For offences under sections 7 (rendering food injurious to health) and 14 (selling food not of the nature or substance or quality demanded) of the Act, the maximum fine a magistrates' court may set for each offence is £20,000.
There are also penalties for obstructing an authorised officer.
What can I do to prevent myself, or my staff, breaking the law?
In order to help protect yourself from such penalties ensure you, or your staff have received up-to-date training in Food Safety, such as the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health’s Food Safety in Catering, Level 2 Award. Click here to find out more about Acorn Health and Safety's CIEH Level 2 Award Food Safety in Catering.
Our food safety trainers are passionate about anything to do with food or food safety. They are excellent at adapting courses and make food safety training both informative and enjoyable.
A 72 year old resident of a nursing home in Essex was lowered into a Bath filled with water possibly as hot as 72°C.
Rootcroft Ltd, the company that runs the home, was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £5,989 in costs. The company was also ordered to pay the victim £500 in compensation. It was found that no thermostatic mixing valve was fitted to the water supply
HSE Inspector Sue Matthews said: "Rootcroft Ltd failed in its duties and instead a vulnerable resident suffered a painful injury. This could have been worse - several fatal scaldings have occurred in healthcare settings since 2001. This incident was entirely avoidable and could have been prevented at little cost. Thermostatic mixing valves have been required for many years where vulnerable people are being bathed and health and safety advice for care homes is readily available"
Source: Health and Safety Executive Website - click here for the full article
Prime minister David Cameron has appointed Lord Young as his new health and safety advisor. Lord Young hopes his review will 'reintroduce an element of common sense and focus regulation where it is most needed, ensuring a system that is proportionatte and not bureaucratic'
Lord Youngs review will include a look at possible changes to the Health and Safety at Work Act and current compensation laws with an aim of ensuring health and safety legislation protects people without overwhelming businesses and organisations with red tape.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) have found that contaminated windscreen wiper water may be the cause of twenty percent of all cases of Legionnaires' disease in England and Wales with Professional drivers being five times more likely to contract Legionnaires' disease.
Drivers are urged to add screenwash to their windscreen wiper water after traces of Legionella (the bacterium responsible for Legionnaires' disease) were found in one in five cars that did not have the additive, but in no cars that did ...
Thursday, February 25, 2010, 09:30
The parents of a 16-year-old swimmer who collapsed and died have criticised a "shortfall in training and equipment" for contributing to her death.
John and Lesley Konderak delivered their damning statement following an inquest into daughter Sophie's death.
The family's sentiments were echoed by Coroner Catherine Mason during the hearing yesterday.
She called for a review of national guidelines into resuscitation training after delivering a verdict stating Sophie could have been saved had the lifeguards had more effective tuition.
Afterwards, a statement from the grieving family stated: "The inquest has found that Sophie's life could have been saved.
"The shortfall in the level of training and equipment contributed to this.
"We hope the coroner's recommendations will lead to an improvement in lifesaving training and no further lives will be lost."
Sophie, from Knighton, collapsed during an evening warm-up session at Braunstone Leisure Centre, Leicester, on September 15 after suffering a sudden increase in her heart rate.
Experts said she suffered from an undiagnosed genetic disorder known as arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia.
The condition causes fatty build-ups in the wall of the heart that cause the electric pulse to "short circuit" and speed up from as few as 50bpm to 300bpm.
The inquest heard that within two minutes of her collapse she was hauled from the water by trained lifeguards and her swimming coach, Alex Dawson.
Lifeguard Katy Butler administered two bouts of CPR as she thought Sophie had stopped breathing twice but, crucially, did not check the teenager's pulse because she had not been trained to do so.
After the final bout of CPR, Miss Butler told the inquest she believed Sophie was breathing normally and she was placed in the recovery position until a paramedic arrived.
Paramedic Sarah Hargraves said she saw no signs of life, adding that she saw no CPR being carried out, and said Sophie was laying on her back.
She told the hearing that when Sophie was eventually ready to receive a shock to her heart, after further CPR, it failed both times. Sophie was pronounced dead on arrival at Leicester Royal Infirmary.
The inquest heard the period between the final efforts of Miss Butler and the arrival of the paramedic had been the "window of opportunity" to save Sophie.
Consultant paediatric cardiologist Dr Abdul Karim Duke told the hearing it would be "more likely than not" that Sophie's heart would have been restored to a normal rhythm if early defibrillation had been administered.
He said the period in which that shock should have been administered would be around three to four minutes after she collapsed, but that through effective CPR that period could have been considerably longer.
There was no defibrillator at the leisure centre. A tearful Miss Butler said she had been told during her training that if a patient was breathing again they should be put in the recovery position and, if not, CPR should be carried out.
Dr Duke, however, suggested that what she thought was normal breathing was, in fact, merely a result of her resuscitation attempts.
After recording a narrative verdict, Mrs Mason said: "A person is only as good as their training."
She said she would write to the Resuscitation Council of the UK asking it to clarify its guidelines.
She added that she would urge it to alter the guidance to state that once CPR had begun, it should continue until a qualified professional arrived, or the person regained consciousness.
Source: Leicester Mercury - This is Leicestershire (www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk)
Acorn Comment:
It is difficult to criticise the lifeguard who was doing the best she could under difficult and distressing circumstances.
However, the Coroner’s statement “A person is only as good as their training” highlights the need for good quality resuscitation training for those in a position where their skills might be called upon.
All of our Basic Life Support and First Aid courses are delivered by qualified trainers whom themselves have many years experience and come from a variety of professional backgrounds, including the military and emergency services.
To learn more about First Aid and resuscitation training, click here to view the courses available on our website at www.acornsafety.co.uk
As many businesses will know the 'sick note' is being replaced with a 'fit note' at the beginning of April. Below is a link to a useful PowerPoint presentation that explains the changes from independent occupational health providers Split Dimension.
Click here to download the Powerpoint presentation. (The presentation is in Powerpoint 2007 format - click here if you need the Microsoft Viewer Program)
A care home provider has been fined £100,000 with costs of £45,000 after a disabled teenager was lowered into a bath of scalding water and died from her injuries.Yelena Hasselberg-Langley, 18, suffered severe burns when she was lowered into the excessively hot bath at a supported living home in Oxfordshire. Lifeways Community Care Ltd - which runs the home on Owens Way, Oxford - was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court today after being prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Ms Hasselberg-Langley was a resident at the home and required 24-hour care. She was registered blind, was paraplegic and had epilepsy. On 27 August 2007 she was lowered into a bath of excessively hot water and suffered severe burns. She was admitted to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford before being transferred to the specialist burns unit at the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead. Ms Hasselberg-Langley died on 31 August 2007.
Lifeways, who are registered at 118 Garratt Lane, London, had pleaded guilty to
breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act etc 1974.
This was a successful joint investigation which was initially led by Thames
Valley Police (TVP) with technical assistance from HSE. The TVP report was
passed to the Crown Prosecution Service who decided that they would not pursue
criminal proceedings against any of the individuals involved. The HSE then
continued with the criminal investigation. The court heard that the HSE
investigation found that although the bath was fitted with a special valve to
prevent scalding, this valve had never been set. In addition to this, staff had
no training in the risks of scalding and there was no bath thermometer.
Following the incident, Lifeways Community Care Ltd, were issued with an
Improvement Notice by HSE requiring them to establish proper procedures to
minimise the chance of a similar incident occurring. HSE Inspector, Nina Judkins,
said: "It is difficult to imagine a more vulnerable resident than Yelena. The
risk of scalding to people who are so vulnerable that they cannot prevent harm
to themselves is a well-known danger in the care industry. "The consequences of
scalding can, in addition to causing excruciating pain, be fatal - as so
shockingly seen in this case. "HSE has extensive, freely-available guidance on
how the risk of scalding can be controlled. If this guidance had been followed
then this tragedy would not have happened. "Everyone involved with the care of
vulnerable service users must ensure that they have the necessary safeguards in
place. Cases like this are completely avoidable if the correct guidance is
followed."
An incident in which a worker was nearly decapitated left him with headaches, insomnia and depression. He later committed suicide.
The man’s widow sued for damages after losing her husband. The company admitted it was responsible for the incident but not the suicide. The House of Lords disagreed, saying the 2 were linked and were a result of the company failing in its duties.
This is the first case of its kind in the UK and sets a legal precedent.
www.wateratwork.org is a campaign about the benefit of drinking water in the workplace, both to employers and employees.
Use the above link to visit their website for more information.
Visit our Archive of Manual Handling News and Advice
Now is the time when you are planning the amount of clothing you're taking on your summer holidays. Buying new bibs and bobs to wear, the suntan lotions that we should be taking to prevent sunburn and its consequences and they all add up to quite a weight! I know because I am doing the same thing as you read this.
However there are a few safety factors we need to consider.
For example: what is the maximum amount you should be lifting?
Well according to the HSE guidelines the following rules apply but don’t forget they only apply when all the elements of a risk assessment are perfect….and as we know this never happens - there is always an element of risk to whatever we are moving or supporting.
We also need to consider the way in which we lift the bags we want to take and
prevent pressure on the back.
Simple precaution is to follow the Principles of safe handling.
1. Ensure you have a stable but mobile base – 1 foot slightly infront of the
other
2. Start movement slowly
3. Keep the load close to your body
4. If it hurts STOP –find another way of doing it!
5. Maintain a natural upright posture – simply put raise your head!
6. Last but most important bend your knees! This helps you keep a good posture
Remember if you have to bend over to pick anything up you put more pressure in
your lumbar discs. The heavier the item you move the greater the pressure.
BE CAREFUL you do not want to start your holiday with a bad back!
Now I hear you say “ Well how heavy should my suitcases be?”
As we discussed there is no safe limit it depends on your environment etc and
what your body thinks is comfortable for you. However the rule of thumb is if
you have to strain to lift it its too heavy!
If flying remember that the airlines have given you a baggage allowance, use it
wisely and using more luggage is best.
Most airlines have limits of 20 to 50lbs PER PIECE so it does not matter how
many persons are flying only the weight per piece of luggage. Obviously this
number varies greatly between airlines, but they are usually pretty flexible. I
know in many countries if you exceed the weight you can pay a fee for the amount
over the maximum and proceed.
My advice would be to check your airlines website or call and they should be
able to give you an accurate number.
So what are you waiting for? Go and enjoy …just make sure you are safe.
Happy holidays
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