Every 25 minutes, someone breaks or fractures a bone at work according to the latest figures from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which recently held a ‘Shattered Lives’ campaign, to highlight the devastating consequences of simple slips, trips and falls in the workplace.
In the catering and hospitality industry last year, over 50 per cent of the injuries reported to the HSE were from a slip, trip or fall, costing some £31 million.
The figures are alarming – every week, one person dies from a slip, trip or fall at work and the serious injuries from these types of accident make up almost a third of all injuries reported to the HSE.
Introducing the ‘Shattered Lives’ campaign, Dr Elizabeth Gibby, Head of the Injuries Reduction Programme, HSE said: “Each year slips, trips and falls cost British society nearly £811 million pounds, with £31 million of this coming from the catering and hospitality industry. But what these figures don’t reflect is the extent to which these injuries affect individual workers and their families.
“Slips, trips and falls can be viewed as being minor, funny accidents but the effects are not. They can lead to major injuries, and a lifetime of disability or time off work – and in worst cases, fatalities. ‘Shattered Lives’ will encourage people to change their attitudes: if you spot a hazard, don’t assume ‘somebody else will sort it out’.
“Slips, trips and falls can also have a shattering effect on businesses through costs such as employee absence, sick pay and reduced productivity. Irrespective of the size of the business and the job that you do, it could happen to you.”
http://www.hse.gov.uk/
