Important Information

Accident reporting : Accidents, near misses, diseases and dangerous occurrences - when and how to report

We all have a duty to report any of the above when they occur during work activities or in the workplace, including travel and fieldwork anywhere in the world.

Why do we do this? Three reasons:

1. Legal compliance - the HSE places upon us a statutory duty to report the above under The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013

2. Financial reasons - reporting leads to a healthier and safer workplace and can reduce sick leave. It can also prevent minor hazards becoming major hazards (which is why we report near misses).

3. Moral reasons - it is the right thing to do. If we report unsafe issues then we play our part in protecting others from those same issues by alerting management to problems

Definitons - what do we need to report?

• Accidents - a type of incident which is separate, identifiable, unintended and causes physical injury. These can range from minor cuts to broken limbs; physical violence to trapped fingers etc

• Diseases - these must be linked to exposure to a hazard at work and require a medical diagnosis before reporting and can include new symptoms or the worsening of existing symptoms. Typical reportable diseases are: occupational asthma, occupational dermatitis, cramp of the hand or forearm, carpal tunnel syndrome, hand-arm vibration syndrome, tendonitis. Exposure to carcinogens, mutagens and biological agents are also reportable.

• Dangerous occurrences - these are certain incidents with a high potential to cause death or serious injury. There are a whole host of these which go beyond the scope of this article. The DSA will advise on specifics at the time of reporting. Typically they cover diving operations, collapse of scaffolding (potentially from fieldwork activities), biological agents, explosives, electrical short circuits.

• Near misses - any event that doesn't lead to harm but does have the potential to cause illness or injury. In these instances, an unexpected event occurs which had not been planned or risk assessed but you feel it had the potential to escalate. That it didn't in this case could be just a matter of luck.

Dangerous occurrences and near misses - what's the point in reporting?

• Reports allow us to prevent accidents in the future - typically, most near misses go on to cause an injury/accident unless rectified or further assessed

• Allows an investigation to learn about what happened and why, in order to prevent recurrences or improve best practice

• Allows for the replacement and/or repair of dangerous equipment

Safety Culture - a no blame scenario

• The important thing to remember about reporting as above is that the University operates a no-blame culture. We actively want to know when things go wrong so we can improve and this message is supported strongly by Charlie in his video about safety culture at the University. 

• When you make a report, the DSA will conduct an investigation if required and make recommendations for improvements. You might be asked further questions, but you are not being held responsible. We recognise that incidents occur even with the best planning and we all have a duty to contribute to their prevention. We all have a right to leave the workplace in the same condition as we arrived!

How to report

• Use the online reporting system (SOLAR)

• Report directly to a first aider (names are posted around the building)

• Email to environment-safety@york.ac.uk

Dept Staff Monthly Meeting (May) - Recording

Thank you to Dave R for hosting the discussion on Tuesday around our DEG Seminars and to everyone for their contributions and feedback. Thanks to Laura C and Samarthia for their update on decolonisation, and a big congratulations to Sally and Samarthia for each winning an MTD award! 

If you missed this month's meeting, you can catch up via the recording link below:

Click here to watch the recording of May's staff meeting.

The next Dept Staff Monthly Meeting is scheduled for Wed 26 June, 14:05-15:00. If you need the Google calendar invite to be resent, drop Chloe an email: environment-pa@york.ac.uk. 

Crowdfunding for KKNU

As you probably know, York is partnered with KKNU (Karazin Kharkiv National University), but it seems the amount of support we have been able to provide so far has been rather limited. LLS has tried to do our best, we have designed and delivered an online course that they had asked us to provide for them, which was a huge success – periodically interrupted on their side by shelling, power outages and similar. Over the past few weeks, my colleagues saw very dramatically just how badly their infrastructure was hit by recent events, and yet they all persisted with attending sessions on Phonology and Phonetics. Their resilience and dedication are mind-boggling and had us all in awe.

A second thing they asked was whether two of their staff could attend our Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Certificate course, which is a 5-week course we run each summer (and which, by the way, is open to all York students at a reduced fee). We are waiving the course fee (£1,500 per person) for these colleagues, and the university are providing free accommodation, but we need to find the money for their travel and subsistence, to the tune of £3,500. Our crowdfunder has so far raised just under half that, largely through donations from within LLS.

Please do consider a) making a small donation and/or b) sharing this crowdfunder with colleagues, on social media, or wherever else you think is appropriate. Every little helps!