Communication Beat

Incidents of negligence of health and safety in small construction companies have been on the rise. According to research conducted by UCATT, companies that employ less than 50 workers are responsible for a disproportionately large number of worker deaths. Such small and medium-sized companies account for only one-third of the overall size of the construction industry, yet they were responsible for half of the construction workers’ deaths that took place in the UK last year.

Alan Ritchie, General Secretary of UCATT, said that most small firms are never inspected, because of which they tend to neglect safety issues. He suggests that each company should choose a Director, whose job should be to ensure proper implementation of health and safety guidelines. If a worker is known to have died because of a serious breach of safety measures, the Director should be held personally responsible.

The Union is also asking for an increase in the number of frontline inspectors, trained to adopt a no-tolerance policy, such that strict action will be taken against those who fail to meet safety and health standards.

International Workers Memorial Day is held every year in memory of people who have died at work. This year UCATT urged people to observe silence for two minutes at noon on this day. According to Jerry Swain, who is the Regional Secretary of UCATT’s London and South East Region, the International Workers Memorial Day, along with bringing memories of those who have died or sustained injuries at work, also brings an opportunity to demand better safety facilities, so that further deaths can be prevented.

Any company that is involved in work where employees could potentially be injured must make themselves fully aware of the legal implications and training available to avoid the wrath of the HSE and the courts. Protect your company with accredited health and safety courses such as the nebosh distance learning course offered by Workplace Law Training.

Its a frightful feeling any time a doctor tells you that you’ve got any kind of chronic illness. At first your mind wants to reject it, and then you continuously give into the shock of realizing that you really do have something wrong with you. Even if youve been exhibiting symptoms for a long time, your problem just isnt set in stone till the doctor tells you those fateful words : I am sorry to tell you, but the tests came back positive.

When the diagnosis is Tardive Dyskinesia, it really shouldnt come as any surprise. In fact, it may even be a relief, because once you know what the issue is, there are thngs you can do to turn the condition, and you definitely wish to do that. Perhaps you have been suffering from the humiliation of your tongue popping out of your mouth every few seconds or of making horrible grimaces that are out of your control. You could have had a lot of distressing physical symptoms, like neck cramps or involuntary twisting of joints. Dont believe any one when they tell you that you will just have to live with the issues, as they would not wish to if they were in your place. Instead, here is what you can do.

For a start you can learn everything there is to know about TD damages. Sometimes its just great to have someone you can talk to about your condition who will understand and offer recommendations for what you should do next. Contacting the Foundation will put you in touch with caring folk who can help. You may also visit their site at www.dystonia-foundation.org.

There are several doctors who have investigated TD and know the right sorts of treatments that will reverse the indicators of the disorder and bring relief to patients. If your folks surgeon isn’t ready to provide you with this kind of help, you can contact a psychiatrist instead who has experience working with the complications of anti-psychotic drugs. Additionally, you will find a neurologist can properly treat your Tardive Dyskinesia Case.

The sudden outbreak of the E.Coli virus in Wales, which claimed the life of a five-year-old boy Mason Jones and made 100 others seriously ill, has raised questions about the quality of food safety resources.

Professor Hugh Pennington, head of the inquiry commission looking into the matter, has made no bones about the fact that food producers and distributors need to lay more emphasis on food safety management guidelines. He further claimed that Mr. William Tudor, the butcher responsible for supplying the infected meat that led to the outbreak could have been prosecuted earlier as there was sufficient evidence showing that food safety standards in his business were not satisfactory. Mr. Tudor has already served 12 months in prison in 2007 for the incident. Professor Pennington was also shocked that despite its tainted past, no restrictions were imposed on the slaughterhouses supplying meat to Tudor’s business.

To avoid the repercussions of a visit from HSE officials companies should bring themselves and their employees fully up-to-date with the latest H&S regulations. Click here for more iosh course information from the experts at Workplace Law Training.

In order to ensure good food hygiene and to prepare the environmental officers to deal more strictly with such dishonest butchers, a number of recommendations were made by Professor Pennington in the report submitted. Some of the important steps that he wants the authorities to take to bring about an improvement in food safety resources include:

• Reviewing the guidance issued by the Food Standard Agency;
• Extensive training of all the inspection officers and the overseers staff; and
• Unannounced inspection as far as possible to avoid giving time to butchers to prepare falsified data.