Accident reporting and Investigation at Warwickshire College

Why do we bother to report Accidents? It is a legal requirement that all accidents including near misses are reported Allows us to identify trends Target resources

Which Form do I use? Full Accident Report Form Injured Person The Accident Centre: Area: Workshop: Week Commencing MINOR INJURY ACCIDENT REPORT FORM MINOR INJURY ACCIDENT REPORT FORM Centre: Area: Workshop: Week Commencing Minor Injury Report Form Injured Person The Accident

Full Accident Report Form Should be used for accidents including: Injury Near miss Dangerous Occurrence Work-related Illness The new version will have instructions on front cover

Minor Injury Report Form Instructions on the front cover Used mainly in workshops / craft areas Manager must agree to use it and send a return weekly Used only for minor injuries eg. Very small wound MINOR INJURY ACCIDENT REPORT FORM Centre: Area: Workshop: Week Commencing Injured Person The Accident

Completing the forms It is essential that the forms are filled in accurately to reduce the need to contact people again for the information Ensure that the site on which the accident has happened is clearly identified Describe clearly and succinctly what happened and, if you can, what caused the accident to happen

Add details of any witnesses If someone was injured then fill in any treatment given Monitoring the injured person Near misses NEVER allow the injured person to complete the whole form without at least a countersignature by another person

Recommendations to Prevent Recurrence Be realistic and constructive Do not make inappropriate comments on the accident report form Please remember that reporting accidents is a legal requirement and the forms may be used as evidence NB It is not always possible to enter details at this time

Where possible, ask the injured person to sign the form but – Don’t ask them to sign the form until you have completed as much detail as possible – they must be allowed to see what you have written about the accident as they are signing to say they agree with it NB If the injured person is unable to sign please send the form, unsigned, to the Health and Safety Officer as soon as possible.

NB In the case of fatality the police must be informed Serious Accidents Serious accidents should be reported immediately to the H&S team by phone The scene* of the accident should not be changed as evidence (eg photos) may be required * If the scene is relevant to the accident NB In the case of fatality the police must be informed

Reporting to HSE Some accidents are reportable to HSE and the H&S team will do this. If details are unknown at the time of the accident, this should not delay the sending of the form. Further details can be completed by the Health and Safety Officer later.

*RIDDOR applies to all work activities Reporting to LSC Where there is a RIDDOR* reportable accident to an LSC funded student, the accident must be reported to LSC. The H&S team will report to LSC except in the case of Work Based Learners *RIDDOR applies to all work activities

Confidentiality Forms contain confidential information and should be sent to the Health and Safety Officer, Customer Services Manager and Programme Area or Support Manager in an envelope or folded and stapled.

Accident Investigation Depending on the information received the H&S Officer will decide to: Ask for further information to enable a decision Ask for a short investigation Ask for a full investigation

More information Usually because the form has not been completed fully May need more detail to identify ‘seriousness’ of incident

Short Investigation More formal way of recording information particularly : Competence of injured person Environment

ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION Full Investigation Required by law for HSE RIDDOR reportable accidents Required to identify root cause(s) of accidents to prevent recurrence ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION

Has instructions on front Has pages for recording witness statements Asks questions to identify details including: Competence of person injured Competence of person supervising them Work equipment Working environment

The investigation should identify root cause(s) Remedial action may be required including: Training or retraining New equipment Repairs to premises etc

Further Action The Customer Services Manager may inform the insurers if: A claim is likely The accident is serious

The Insurers The Insurers will investigate accidents if: A claim is likely A claim has been made

The Insurers will: Interview witnesses and take statements Look at all relevant documents Look at scene Take photographs and evidence Decide what further action to take

HSE Investigation HSE will investigate serious accidents immediately and may investigate less serious accidents later An HSE Enforcement Officer will investigate Interview witnesses and take statements Look at all relevant documents Look at scene Take photos and evidence

Then decide whether to: Advise no further action required Issue an Improvement Notice Issue a Prohibition Notice Take out a criminal case for breach of legislation (If successful this can result in fines and, in some cases, imprisonment)

Civil Claims Claims for compensation may be made by the injured person The Insurers, taking legal advice, will decide what action to take NB Claims for negligence are required to demonstrate that there was a Duty of Care, the Duty has been breached and an injury was caused.

Other, related, forms The Tutor Notification Form (from Registry) should be used to report non work related illness eg headaches and other concerns relating to individual students eg behaviour The Incident Report Form should be used to report security and procedural incidents and concerns

Work Related Accidents For academic year 04-05 For current academic year Site No. of Accidents Site No. of Accidents Henley 87 Henley 56 IT Centres 1 MM 112 MM 291 Off Site 16 Off Site 13 RLS 104 RLS 203 RLS Nursery 2 RLS Nursery 4 Rugby 54 Rugby 190 Rugby Nursery 1 Rugby Nursery 4 Trident Park 40 Thornbank 1 Trident Park 54 Total so far…….…..385 York Road 8 Total…………………….....856 For 04/05 there were 93 chase ups and for the current year there have been 96 chase ups so far………..

Health & Safety Team Barbara Port – H & S Officer telephone 01926 318212 Debbie Drewitt – H & S Advisor telephone 01788 338674 Tom Marsh – H & S Advisor telephone 01926 318108 Maurice Wood – H & S Advisor telephone 01926 316092 Heather Golding – Administrator telephone 01926 338131