HSE concerned about the number of work-related deaths in Britain

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has said that the high number of people killed at work is “a source of concern”.

Between the years 2014/15 and 2017/18 1,000 workers and members of the public have been fatally injured in workplaces.

The HSE said the latest statistics are a reminder of why health and safety is so important. A spokesperson from the HSE commented:

“Despite the fact that Britain’s health and safety record is the envy of much of the world, the increase in the number of workers fatally injured is clearly a source of concern.”

The two most dangerous industries in these statistics are construction and manufacturing. An average of 39 construction workers die each year followed by 19 people are killed in the manufacturing industry.

There are 28 yearly fatalities in the agriculture sector. The HSE has announced that they are stepping up the number of visits by inspectors to farms to check whether they are complying with health and safety guidelines. They have also published downloadable safety guidelines for farmers.

According to HSE, the two main causes of fatalities in 2018 were falling from a height or being struck by a vehicle.

Improvements in health and safety training and better PPE (personal protective equipment) mean that Britain has fewer accidents per 1,000 workers than in most developed countries, but the latest HSE statistics show room for improvement. There were 555,000 work-related injuries in the year 2017/18 and 30.70 million work days were lost through injury and work-related illnesses.