Injury figures down at work (From Malvern Gazette)

Injury figures down at work

4:30pm Wednesday 9th January 2013 in News

THE number of people killed and seriously injured at work in Worcestershire has fallen.

One person died in the county during 2011/12, compared with three the previous year, according to figures from the Health and Safety Executive.

The number of major injuries suffered in the work place also fell from 245 in 2010/11 to 231 in 2011/12.

Meanwhile, there were 754 workers who had to take three days or more off work to recover from injuries last year.

This was compared with 773 the previous year.

Rosi Edwards, HSE’s regional director for the Midlands, urged employers to tackle dangers in the work place.

She said: “Each year, instead of enjoying the occasion, families of workers in Worcestershire who failed to come home from work safely spend Christmas and the New Year thinking of absent loved ones.

“Hundreds of other workers who have had their lives changed forever by major injury will be experiencing difficulties of their own.

“When put into this kind of context, it is clear why health and safety in British workplaces needs to be taken seriously.

“I urge employers to tackle the real dangers that workers face rather than focusing on the trivial or miring themselves in pointless paperwork.

“My new year wish is that we can reduce the number of deaths and major injuries in 2013 and make the year ahead a happier one for many families.”

There were no people killed at work in Worcester, Malvern Hills or Wychavon in 2011/12.

Major injuries in Worcester dropped from 58 to 54, from 27 to 26 in Malvern Hills and from 55 to 48 in Wychavon.

Injuries where workers had to take three or more days off work to recover fell year on year in Worcester from 191 to 184 and from 187 to 172 in Wychavon, but they rose in Malvern Hills from 78 to 84.

Nationally, 173 people were killed at work in Great Britain over the last year, compared to 175 in 2010/11.