HSE failing to make workplaces better

The
Health and Safety Executive has failed to make the working conditions in the UK
safe, claims a leading occupational medicine consultant in this month’s issue
of the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.

St
Mary’s Hospital’s Dr Harry Waldron writes that the HSE has been a “great
disappointment” and occupational health services available to staff in the UK
are “patchy at best”.

He
believes that delays in treatment are worsening work-related disabilities.

Waldron
calls for the government agencies to ensure that company directors and board
members face the prospect of a jail sentence if health and safety laws are
broken.

A
typical patient with work-related back pain might wait six to nine weeks for
specialist treatment by which time their chances of returning to work would
have been halved, claims Waldron.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

Email(Required)

OptOut

From time to time, we will send you emails about selected products, events and services from Personnel Today and OHW+ - but you can choose to opt-out at any time. If you do not wish to receive these emails, please tick this box.

Phone

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Δ

www.rsm.ac.uk

By
Mike Broad