LETTER: Health and safety advice to stop deaths at work

I AM writing in response to recently-published figures on workplace deaths, which show eight people were killed while at work in Lancashire in 2010/11 and 661 suffered a major injury.

By The Newsroom

Published 3rd Mar 2012, 13:13 BST

I would urge businesses to focus on the real health and safety dangers their employees face to help cut the number of deaths and major injuries.

However, it’s not surprising employers are left confused about their health and safety responsibilities when these stark figures contrast with a host of “health and safety gone mad” stories in the media.

The Health and Safety Executive website gives straightforward, step-by-step guidance on what you need to do – and no more. It includes advice on how to report a serious incident, along with quick and easy on-line risk assessment tools. For more information, visit www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety.

DAVID SOWERBY

Regional Director, HSE

Lancashire Health and Safety Executive