14 August 2004 - HSE and TGWU Undertake Research To Eliminate Child Deaths On Farms
Mr. Mike Walters Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Inspector, seconded to the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU), is appealing for the help of people in farming in order to highlight and eliminate the number of child deaths on farms, by way of asking the farming communities to complete 2 surveys.
The
surveys, one to help with the problems of childcare within the farming
community and the other in a bid to see if the farming community recognise
the dangers to children and if any action currently has been taken to
control these risks.
This area of Health and Safety within the farming community spreads not only
within the farming families themselves, but the risks involved spreads to
visitors to the countryside, of which many are children.
Visitors to the countryside can perceive the open space as being a very safe
environment to allow their children the freedom to run, but are perhaps
unaware that agriculture is the only "high-risk" industry dealing with
children and has the highest fatalities rates of all industry within Great
Britain.
The statistics within the farming industry are frightening, with 35 children
having been killed between 1993 and 2003 and the HSE receiving reports of
almost 400 serious injuries to children. There are also many of these
incidents going unreported.
Mike Walters commented:
“Part of my research during my secondment is to examine current attitudes towards child safety, and formal and informal arrangements for childcare provision in rural communities. To help give a fuller picture on these very important issues I’m inviting members of the farming community to complete two surveys. The first is designed to help try and solve the difficulties faced by farming families in relation to childcare. The second is an investigation into the awareness of the farming community of the risks faced by children on farms and to see what current action has been taken to control some of the identified key risks.
“These surveys provide an opportunity for all of us involved in agriculture to seek solutions to reduce the number of incidents on farms involving young children.”
Chris Kaufman, TGWU National Secretary, Food & Agriculture also commented:
“Farms are workplaces NOT playgrounds. Mike’s surveys are vital to the TGWU’s campaign to keep death and injury off the farm. I hope there is a big take up of the surveys by the farming community.”
The surveys can be completed on-line on the HSE website or download them as Word documents, and return them by post, fax or e-mail to Mike Walters, c/o Health & Safety Executive, International House, Dover Place, ASHFORD, Kent TN23 1HU. Fax: 01233-634827 or e-mail: mike.walters@hse.gsi.gov.uk
The surveys can be found by clicking this link: Child Safety in Agriculture
Article by Alexandra Johnston
