Figures published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) showed that while Britain continues to be one of the safest places to work in Europe, too many workers are still being injured or made ill by work.
Injury and ill-health statistics show that there were an estimated 28.2 million working days lost due to work related ill health or injury in 2013/14, with the cost to society estimated at £14.2 billion (based on 2012/13 figures). Further statistics released show that, in 2013/14, there were;
- – 133 fatal injuries – a fall from 150 the previous year.
- – 77,593 other injuries reported under The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR), and;
- – an estimated two million people suffering from illnesses believed to be caused by current or past work.
Judith Hackitt, the chair of HSE, said that:
“These latest figures remind us what health and safety is really about… (and) actually mean – the number of times in the last year someone went out to work and either did not return home to their loved ones, or came home with life changing injuries.
’Jobsworths’ using ‘elf n safety as a convenient excuse for all manner of things, and those claiming health and safety is a burden, need to reflect on this. Britain has one of the best health and safety systems in the world, but that is cold comfort to those who have suffered loss… that is so easily avoided with sensible and proportionate risk management”.
The industries in which workers are most likely to be injured by their jobs have not changed significantly – with construction (1900 major/specified injuries), agriculture (292 major/specified injuries), manufacturing (3159 major/specified injuries) and waste and recycling (486 major/specified injuries) among the higher risk sectors.
Original Article available at: http://press.hse.gov.uk/2014/injury-and-ill-health-statistics-highlight-workplace-dangers/?ebul=gd-engineering&cr=6/Nov14