Reporting of Accident, Dangerous Occurrences and Occupational Ill Health Policy

For the most serious incidents such as a fatality, or an incident attracting media attention, the following shall be contacted as soon as possible by telephone (or quickest method available if telephone is not available):

• The Chief Operating Officer
• The Vice Chancellor
• The Health, Safety and Risk Manager

These individuals will then be responsible for deciding who else needs to be immediately contacted regarding the incident.

All Accidents Requiring First Aid It is the responsibility of Heads of Schools and Heads of Professional Services to ensure that all accidents requiring first aid treatment are reported on an ARF and submitted to the UH&SS without delay. In these circumstances a first aid treatment form must accompany the ARF. Where accidents occur and students are injured in or adjacent to Halls of Residence, it is the responsibility of Hall Wardens or Sub Wardens to report.

Dangerous occurrences should be reported on the online Near Miss / Dangerous Occurrence form. Available on the button above.

The forms can be used by anyone to submit a report of a near miss or dangerous occurrence. Reports can be submitted by someone acting on another person’s behalf. Reports are processed by system administrators. They can then be assigned for further investigation, or approval and archiving The reporting person shall complete the form as soon as possible after the incident, even if all details are not immediately available.

The reporting of near misses is encouraged. A near miss is not the same as a dangerous occurrence. Dangerous occurrences are defined by, and are statutorily reportable under RIDDOR. Reporting and investigating near misses is part of the University’s “lessons learned” mechanism. Learning from things that had the potential to go wrong, even though there had been no injury or loss involved.

Any employee who believes they are suffering from ill health attributable to their work should report it to the Occupational Health Advisor, (OHA), (in confidence where necessary).

Any manager who considers that an employee is suffering from a work related illness or disease should also report this directly to the OHA. (email: occupationalhealth@lboro.ac.uk) or Telephone 01509 222851 / 222850.

Certain occupational illness and diseases are reportable to the HSE. The OHA shall investigate all cases and, where necessary refer the case to the University’s Occupational Health Physician for further investigation.

Whenever necessary, reports of injuries etc. under RIDDOR are made to the HSE by the “responsible person” (the University Health and Safety Service (UH&SS). The UH&SS is the single point of contact between the HSE and the University in respect of RIDDOR. It is important therefore, that all relevant information is passed to the UH&SS as soon as possible, by completing the relevant online form, and in more serious cases, informing the UH&SS by the quickest practicable means e.g. telephone. (Contact UH&SS by telephone on; 01509 222181 or email; HSE@lboro.ac.uk).

Fatalities and major injuries must be notified to the HSE forthwith using the quickest practicable means. (A list of major injuries is given in a Schedule to RIDDOR). A further written report on an F2508 form must be made to the HSE within 10 days of any of the aforementioned reports.

Employers are required to report injuries that lead to a worker being incapacitated for more than seven consecutive days. This is where an employee, or self-employed person, is away from work or unable to perform their normal work duties for more than seven consecutive days (not counting the day of the accident but including weekends and rest days). The report must be made as soon as reasonably practicable and in any case, within 15 days of the accident / incident. Employers must keep a record of any accident, including those where the worker has been incapacitated for more than three consecutive days.

Injuries to members of the public or people who are not at work, which arise out of or in connection with work activity and which result in the injured person being taken to hospital from the scene of an accident for treatment, are reportable. Injuries must be reported forthwith by the quickest practicable means. A further written report on an F2508 form must be made to the HSE within 10 days.

Certain specified dangerous occurrences, which involve major accident potential, are reportable, even where personal injury has not occurred. A list of dangerous occurrences is given in Part 1of Schedule 2 of RIDDOR. Dangerous occurrences must be reported forthwith by the quickest practicable means. A further written report on an F2508 form must be made to the HSE within 10 days.

Certain specified occupational diseases must be reported to the HSE forthwith, if, in respect of an employee, a written diagnosis of one of the occupational diseases, (listed in Column 1, Part I of Schedule 3 of RIDDOR), is received from a doctor, and the affected employee’s current job involves the corresponding work activity, (listed in Column 2, Part I of Schedule 3 of RIDDOR).

In the event of accidents occurring outside normal working hours, or during the absence of officers in the UH&SS, relevant information regarding major incidents must be telephoned to the LU Security Service, who in turn will oversee the notification arrangements in accordance with procedures agreed between the University Health, Safety and Risk Manager and the LU Security Service Manager. (Contact the LU Security Service on; 222141, or email; gatehouse@lboro.ac.uk).

All RIDDOR reported injuries, cases of ill health and dangerous occurrences must be reported by the UH&SS to the University Insurance Officer as soon as possible after the RIDDOR notification. This ensures that the insurance office keeps the University’s Employers and Public liability insurers informed of any possible claims.

Detailed records of all accidents, dangerous occurrences and reportable occupational health illnesses are maintained by the UH&SS. Data on non-reportable ill-health is maintained by the OHA. Accident statistics are reported to every meeting of the University Health, Safety & Environment Committee.

Under RIDDOR and the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1987, an accident book / record must be maintained. The online Accident Report Form fulfils this requirement.

Contractors, visitors, and self- employed persons, whilst on University premises, must report all accidents, near misses and dangerous occurrences to the UH&SS, via the Department or Professional Service for which they are temporarily employed or visiting. If a contractor or self- employed person uses their own version of an accident report form, a copy should also be sent to the UH&SS.

The form can be used by anyone to report an accident, or case of ill health. It can also be filled out by someone acting on another person’s behalf.

The ARF should normally be completed and submitted to the UH&SS within 24 hours of accidents and dangerous incidents occurring. In the case of occupational ill-health, the form should be completed immediately a written confirmation of diagnosis of reportable occupational ill-health, relating to academic or work activities, has been received.

Departments and Professional services should indicate whether the reported incident caused any absence from work. However, it may not be practicable for departments to complete the relevant section of the report accurately in respect of lost time injuries, therefore the form should be submitted in accordance with the above instructions, even though all details may not be immediately available.

Departments should subsequently advise the UH&SS by telephone or email immediately the information relating to absence from work becomes available. The UH&SS will then update the outstanding section of the form and also liaise with the Insurance Office in respect of lost time injuries and occupational ill- health. After 1 December 2017, the online reporting system replaces the use of hard copy versions of the ARF.

For incidents requiring a level 2 investigation an incident review panel shall be established which will:

• Confirm the adequacy of the investigation
• Ensure that root cause(s) have been identified
• Identify any further actions to share learning and closeout the incident
• The IRP shall be based upon the Risk Potential Matrix with the following priority:

Principles for the Incident Review Panel

The following principles will apply:

1. All incidents classed as requiring level two (more in depth investigation) will be presented to the Incident Review Panel by the Dean or the Director or Head of function within 4 weeks of the incident. If it has not been possible to complete the incident report in this time a preliminary incident report will be presented to the Incident Review Panel by the Dean or the Director or Head of function they may be supported by relevant staff. The preliminary report should detail the incident, preliminary findings, action taken to date and ongoing, and timescale to report fully to the Incident Review Panel.
2. The IRP attendees will include the Chair, a representative from the Health and Safety function and such other attendees agreed by the Chair and the Health, Safety and Risk Manager. These attendees will be of a suitable seniority e.g. Other Deans, Directors or Heads of Department, Operations Managers etc. In additional technical specialists may be invited to attend for their specific specialist input.