I’ve finally put together a new look Newsletter. Please click on the link below. I will be publishing a Newsletter every month.

BESPOKE NEWSLETTER

I’m looking forward to a full face to face session with Welsh local authorities. Hopefully lots of chat, discussions and sharing experiences. There’s no training for officers and it’s so important to get this right for the families.

I’m pleased to be speaking at this conference on 17 March 2023. It feels like a while since CIEH hosted a health and safety themed conference and so I hope it’s the start of things to come.

You can find further information HERE

I will be speaking about fatal accident investigations, coroners inquests and family liaison.

For the first time I have planned a programme of training sessions as follows:

• Fatal Accident Investigation and Coroners Inquest 10 Feb Stratford Upon Avon (closed event)
• Practical Incident Investigation Workshop 17 Feb Online
• Fatal Accident Investigation and Coroners Inquest 24 Feb York City Council (closed event)
• Fatal Accident Investigation and Coroners Inquests March 24 Online
• Liaising wWith the Bereaved 30 March Online
• Local Authority Enforcement of Health and Safety 14 April

The closed events are just for information, however all other sessions can be booked via Eventbrite, just follow the link.

Excellent course delivered in a fun and engaging way, I knew very little about PACE before I started the course and now I feel I have a good understanding of the process and pitfalls.

Really enjoyable day, went really quickly and lots of interesting and useful information delivered by a very personable and obviously knowledgeable trainer

Local Authority Officer

I am speaking at my IOSH Branch Meeting webinar tonight…

When: Thursday evening, 12 May 2022 between 19:30 and 20:30hrs (UK time), directly after our Branch AGM.

CONTENT: 

A Coroners Inquest can be highly charged and emotive, considering the final circumstances of someone’s death. In the context of a work related death and breaking it down into the various components, this session will explore the purpose of the Inquest, the various roles of those attending including the Coroner, Jury and ‘interested person’, the chronology, the Conclusion and finally ‘Preventing Further Death‘ reports.

Being prepared to attend or give evidence in an Inquest is crucial given their public nature. This session aims to give an insight into the practicalities of an Inquest and to assist those who may have cause to attend a Coroners Inquest for both personal or professional reasons.

The event registration link is: 

IOSH Coroner’s Inquest Link

The fight against Covid-19 is not just about social behaviour, besides the UK Govt Rule of 6, we also have our own Practitioner Rule of 6. We should consider these as a minimum when drafting or assessing risk assessments or safe systems of work.

1. SOCIAL DISTANCING

I keep seeing risk assessments that refer to social distancing without qualifying what they mean. Please state whether your are maintaining 2m, if not, state the circumstances when this drops below 2m and state the RISK MITIGATION measures at 1m+. You need to be clear as the term ‘social distancing’ is meaningless. Try to maintain 2m, but justify the decision to drop to <2m.

2. ENHANCED CLEANING AND CROSS CONTAMINATION

State the measures that you have in place, if necessary, room by room. Confirm what specialist equipment you are using. UVC lamps, electrostatic sprays, high touch point cleaning, frequency of cleaning, cleaners or staff cleaning etc. Set this out in you ‘Enhanced Cleaning Policy’. Consider how shared equipment will be managed/cleaned. General rules are clean and disinfect all shared equipment in between users or quarantine for 72 hours.

3. PERSONAL HYGIENE

Quote the UK Govt/NHS guidance on hand washing/coughing/sneezing etc. and be clear about where your sanitising stations are and how are you ensuring they are topped up. What are you doing off site for mobile workers?

4. VENTILATION

Increase fresh air circulation and shut down recirculated air. Review mechanical ventilation needs depending on activities e.g. gym vs office. Open windows and doors, but (in general) keep fire doors closed. It’s not good enough to state ‘we are increasing ventilation’, consider a separate ventilation section in your risk assessment to acknowledge the significant role ventilation plays.

5. COMMUNICATION

What information are you communicating to staff and others (contractors/visitors)? How will it be shared, by who and when? The risk assessments are the starting point for content. Returning staff need Covid-19 induction clearly setting out the measures to ensure safety.

6. PPE

Last but not least…PPE. Remember, cloth coverings are not PPE. General rules are at 2m social distancing, respiratory protection is unnecessary. Less than 2m you have options depending on the activity, contact time and risk. Cleanable face visors and/or face masks for close contact work. Options include Type II surgical masks, Type IIR surgical masks, or FFP2/N95 (remember KN95 masks have been discredited by HSE so check). Disposable gloves where there is a risk of contamination from equipment/surfaces etc. Remember, there’s no point wearing any of this if staff don’t know how to use it/wear it/put it on safely.

Very proud to have been asked to sponsor this event. There is a lot of discussion about how regulators will assist in keeping workers safe after lockdown. Will the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 play its part?? Hopefully this will be discussed along with a range of other topics.

Can improvement notices be used to tackle poor management of social distancing or might a prohibition notice be used in extreme circumstances?? Register to watch or catch up later. 7 May 10.30am

Really good days training discussing how PACE applies to local authority work.  Thanks to the group for their contribution..  As always… promoting Sadies as well

Please get in touch if you would like to book any sessions.  January and February are now pretty much booked up.