14 October 2004 - Caithness in Scotland to Benefit from Farming Awareness Day
Caithness lies in the North-East of Scotland
and has had very little contact with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
over recent years, but on Thursday 2 December 2004 at the Caithness
Livestock Centre, Watten near Wick, the HSE and National Farmers Union (NFU)
will be visiting with their Scotland Safety Awareness Day.
Invited to this free event are 600 self-employed farmers and their families,
which will be on a first come first served basis owing to the limited number
of available spaces. Soup and a roll will be served.
The Safety Awareness Day will provide advice and help from the HSE
inspectors attending. Discussing experiences with the inspectors,
other farmers and their families away from the farm, it is planned, will
provide practical solutions to help resolve the high number of injuries and
deaths within the farming community. Last year, there were too many
serious accidents within the farming community - 7 fatalities, 1 of which
was a child and to date, this year, there have been a further 5. The over
55’s rate of deaths is very disconcerting as this figure is on the increase.
Within the event, there will be 7 interactive demonstrations by LANTRA
instructors, plus other professionals, aiming at showing accidents which
regularly occur within the farming sector, such as manual handling,
roof-work and farm transport.
Dr Roger Nourish, Head of HSE's Agriculture and Food sector commented:
"Sensible health and safety is about managing risks not eliminating all risk, however minor. The people best placed to make farms safer are farmers themselves. Health and safety is a fundamental requirement of a sustainable farming business and should be regarded as integral to good farm business management. Unwise risk-taking is the underlying problem and those working on their own are especially vulnerable. A fundamental culture change is needed.
HSE's efforts alone will not build a safer and healthier industry. It is for everyone in agriculture and the wider food chain to play their part. The ill health caused by work on farms and in forestry is a further cause of misery for those affected and severe financial loss for the whole industry".
Tom Sayles, local NFUS's representative also commented:
"I am delighted to be able to support this excellent initiative and hope that the experience is of benefit to all my farming colleagues. I am seriously impressed by the professionalism of our LANTRA and HSE partners and strongly recommend everyone invited attends this event".
Article by Alexandra Johnston
