Health and Safety - Accident and Incident Procedures and First Aid

Policy

The Board of Directors and the Chief Executive of the Society recognise their responsibility for protecting the health & safety of colleagues and others who may be affected by the Society’s business activities. Every effort will be made to reduce, if not eliminate, accidents and incidents. However, in the event of an accident or incident occurring, the following procedures have been adopted.

Accident & Incident Reporting Procedure

Accidents or incidents covered by this procedure include those where personal injury, disease, verbal or physical abuse, road traffic accident, near miss or property damage occurs and involves the following:

• Any colleague in the course of their work, whether the accident / incident occurs on or off Society premises.

• Any third party i.e. customer, visitor or contractor whilst on Society premises.

For further guidance on verbal and physical abuse please refer to Section 20.

The following procedure has been designed for the reporting of accidents and incidents. There are many factors that can determine the level and severity of accidents. However minor or serious the accident the main priority is to ensure the injured party is cared for.

All accidents and incidents must be reported by using the Society’s electronic Accident Reporting program. Full user guides are available on Colleague Connect

Explaining the electronic Accident Report Form

The information that is recorded on the form is of great importance for a number of reasons.

• It enables the business to have a clear picture of the type of accident or incident along with the severity.

• It also enables the business to capture information to allow them to consider ways of reducing accidents or improving working procedures.

• It may also be used as evidence in cases of litigation.

Please be as precise as possible when filling in the electronic Accident Report Form, but remember, it must be factual – do not presume anything.

• Wherever possible, any written notes or documentation used to complete the electronic form should be attached to the electronic forms.

It will be the responsibility of the manager, deputy manager or person in charge to complete the form and verify the entries made.

In cases where an accident occurs on the premises and the injured party is taken to hospital for treatment, or if the injured party is a colleague and is absent from work for seven or more working days  or unable to carry out their normal duties for seven days or more, Health & Safety must be informed of the incident (see RIDDOR). This will enable the team and others to ensure the matter is dealt with correctly and to offer support to colleagues and manager at the site.

If the electronic Accident Reporting program is unavailable, you must contact the Health & Safety Team immediately.

RIDDOR - Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences

In certain circumstances the Society has a duty to report the injury, disease or dangerous occurrence. The Health & Safety Team will submit the report centrally from Head Office. The time span for forwarding such reports is very limited; therefore, it is important that you complete the electronic reporting as soon as possible and not wait for the colleague to return to work. 

Incidents that require us to notify the enforcement authority immediately are:

• A fatality.

• A major injury or condition.

• An injury to a colleague or self-employed person which prevented them doing their normal work for more than seven days.

• An injury to a member of the public due to our working practices which meant they had to be taken from the scene of the accident to a hospital for treatment.

 

Should a fatality or major injury / condition occur, you should contact Health & Safety immediately.

Contact Details

Monday to Friday 8am – 5.00pm contact should be made by phone (01926 516000). Outside these hours you should contact one of the people listed below:

Health & Safety Manager                   07716 224296

Health & Safety Advisor                     07805 681932

Dealing with an Accident or Incident

When an accident results in personal injury, the priority is to ensure that:

• The injured party is cared for.

• The cause of the accident is dealt with immediately to prevent a recurrence.

• The incident is investigated, and the outcome documented.

• Recording and reporting procedures are followed at the earliest possible opportunity.

Accident Investigation

The responsibility for ensuring that accidents are reported, investigated and that counter measures are taken to prevent a recurrence lies with the site manager or the nominated deputy. It is the manager’s responsibility to ensure that:

• Every accident / incident is investigated to identify the cause.

• Following this, procedures are reviewed if necessary and any identified hazard removed.

• Temporary measures are introduced if a hazard cannot be dealt with immediately, to avoid further incidents.

• Where temporary measures are introduced an explanation of the hazard is reported. In the event of the manager being unable to reduce the hazard to an acceptable level the Health & Safety Team must be advised in writing or by email. 

• Should a fatality or major injury occur, the Society’s Health & Safety Manager or GGM of Property and Specialist Services is contacted immediately.

• If a serious injury results from an accident involving machinery or equipment, it is isolated and not used again until a competent person has carried out an inspection.

• As soon as possible after the incident, full details are obtained from those involved as well as from any witnesses, and the detail added to the electronic Accident Report Form. Witness evidence

• Witness evidence should be recorded on the electronic accident report form and should be restricted to a brief factual account of what actually happened. Witness names and addresses should also be added wherever possible. 

If using supplemental notes and statements, these too should be attached to the electronic form with witness signatures. 

Accident Investigation Follow Up

Where accident forms are sent to Head Office, the Health & Safety Team will carry out further accident investigations where required and any further controls or amendments to working practices at sites that are agreed will be recorded on the follow up form.

First Aid 

For provision of First Aid, most of the Society’s locations can be generally considered as low risk, although our larger sites and those with large numbers of colleagues are considered as a medium risk . This assessment has been reached by considering:

 

• The nature and extent of hazards within the group or area and working environment.

• The number of persons employed on the premises at any one time.

• The geographical location in respect of proximity and accessibility to emergency services.

• Previous accident data which assesses the level and nature of Society accidents and incidents.

Levels & Types of Cover 

First Aid Needs Assessment

A first aid needs assessment has been completed to determine the first aid requirements of sites by Group and activities and broadly require the provision of Appointed Persons and Emergency First Aid at Work trained Colleagues.

A copy of the First Aid Needs Assessment is located on Colleague Connect and will be reviewed regularly to ensure it remains applicable for the Society’s operations

Appointed Person  

For low risk environments the statutory requirement for first aid provision is an appointed person, whose duty is to summon assistance in cases of emergency. Such appointed persons should not render any first aid treatment for which they have not been trained. 

An appointed person is someone who has been chosen by the business to:

• Take charge when someone is injured or falls ill, including calling an ambulance.

• Look after first-aid equipment, e.g. re-stocking the first aid box.

• Report accidents as laid down in accordance with the Society reporting procedure. 

To ensure that cover is always available, the site manager or the delegated deputy / duty manager will carry responsibility for fulfilling the role of the appointed person. The business will, where practical, provide appropriate training for the nominated appointed persons to attend. 

First Aider (Emergency First Aid at Work - EFAW)

In higher risk environments however, it has been determined that the business may require the presence of qualified first aid personnel. 

A first aider is a person who:

• Is recognised by the business as a first aider.

• Has undergone a training course in administering First Aid at Work.

• Holds a current Emergency First Aid at Work certificate.

Where the business determines that a qualified first aider is required, it will be the first aider’s duty to:

• Provide first aid as indicated by their training for all colleagues and others at their place of work.

• Ensure that accident report forms are fully completed in the event of an accident or incident.

• Ensure that the site manager is kept fully informed regarding accidents and that completed forms are presented to the site manager for attention and a signature.

• Check first aid boxes regularly (weekly) to ensure that they are readily available for use.

First Aid Boxes

First aid boxes should be available at every site and the appropriately trained appointed person or first aider shall carry responsibility for ensuring that the first aid box and its contents are checked on regular basis. The boxes should be of a suitable material designed to protect the contents from damp and dust and should be clearly marked as first aid containers by means of a white cross on a green background. When a container is stored out of sight, a sign must remain displayed in clear view to show its position.

Each site should make arrangements to maintain the first aid boxes with a sufficient quantity of suitable first aid material (and nothing else) at all times.

At low risk sites the suggested stock list includes:

• First aid leaflet (general guidance on first aid).

• 20 individually wrapped plasters (assorted sizes), appropriate to the type of work (detectable type for food handlers).

• Two sterile eye pads.

• Four individually wrapped triangular bandages (preferably sterile).

• Six safety pins.

• Crepe rolled bandages

• Six medium sized, individually wrapped, un-medicated wound dressings, approximately 18cm x 18cm.

• Two pairs of disposable gloves.

• Tweezers and scissors

• Alcohol free cleansing wipes

• Sticky tape

No medicines or drugs are to be kept in first aid boxes or dispensed to any person.

For medium risk sites the nominated first aider must assess individual requirements for the contents of the first aid box. Further guidance may be sought from the Health & Safety Team. 

First aid equipment and supplies must be purchased through the Society’s nominated supplier. 

 

To access the society first aid needs assessment, please click here

 

 

Version Number

1

Date Created

30/10/2024

Replaces

01/2023