19 November 2004 - National Statistics on Health and Safety Published by HSE
Some of the figures contained within the report are as follows:
- Workplace safety shows there were 235 fatal injuries in 2003/04, which is an increase of 4% from 2002/03 figures. Half of those fatalities occurred in the construction and agriculture and forestry and fishing industries.
- Reported major injuries rose by 9%, with over 33% of all reported injuries occurring by slipping or tripping.
- Work-related ill health had a similar degree of 2.2 million in 2003/04 against 2.3 million in 2001/02.
- Enforcement action shows a 12% rise in the number of enforcement notices issued.
Mr Bill Callaghan, Chair of the HSE commented:
"I believe that sensible health and safety is a cornerstone of a civilised society and, therefore, we must continue to attack these unacceptably high levels of occupational injuries and ill health. Our new Strategy, launched earlier this year, is key. It builds on initiatives successfully developed by HSE and local authorities over recent years and places emphasis on partnership working as the route to further improvements.
The messages that these statistics present are mixed. On the one hand, we still cannot point to clear evidence of progress against our Revitalising Health and Safety targets. On the other hand there are welcome signs on ill health: a downturn in musculoskeletal disorders and a levelling off in the earlier rise in work-related stress. But since ill health accounts for around three-quarters of working days lost, there is still a lot of work to do.
We remain committed to the Revitalising Health and Safety targets as representing the improvements we want to see. While the Commission and Executive have a pivotal role to play, we need to continue to work in partnership with others, including industry, unions and local authorities, if we are to substantially reduce the rate of workplace ill health and injuries.”
Deputy Director General of the HSE, Mr Justin Mc Cracken said:
“There are some very welcome indications that our various initiatives are beginning to bear fruit. In particular, I’m pleased to see reductions in the rate of major injury in the production industries, especially construction, the extractive industries and manufacturing. These are all industries that we have targeted and have worked to get the right mix of interventions – inspection, investigation and enforcement on the one hand, and information, advice and education on the other. Each sector requires a different mix of interventions to get the best results and one challenge we and our local authority partners face is getting this balance right.”
Further information and the report can be accessed by clicking the following: HSE publishes health and safety statistics for 2003/04
Article by Alexandra Johnston
