Andrew Watterson, Reclaiming Health and Safety for All Part 1.ppt

Andrew Watterson, Reclaiming Health and Safety for All Part 1.ppt

1. AEW for IER May 2012
“the Lofstedt Review
“RECLAIMING HEALTH AND SAFETY FOR
ALL”?
WHAT THE REVIEW didn’t say and could and should have said – locating a
missing occupational health perspective”
Andrew Watterson
Occupational and Environmental Health Research Group
Centre for Public Health and Population Health Research

2. What was expected of Lofstedt?
-Government and Industry hopes
and activist fears?
-Campaigner hopes and
government fears?
-What we got?
“Regulation has a role to play in
preventing injury and ill health in
the workplace”
AEW for IER May 2012
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3. What was not said by Lofstedt but should have been
•UK OHS record is flawed and poor on occupational health. Lofstedt
argues ‘progress’ has been made in ‘health outcomes’ (p1). No sound
evidence for this.
•Smart regulation and deregulation has failed.
•It is possible to improve OHS in UK and not run it down. There are
alternatives.
•Risk reduction strategies are flawed for health and safety. Risk banding of
HSE is in some cases lethal. Lofstedt talks about “re-directing
enforcement activity towards businesses where there is the greatest risk
of injury or ill health”
•Where are regulation re occupational diseases extended to cover trivial
risks? Many ACOPs cover health questions and may be reviewed and
viewed as too long, complex and technical? Lead? Asbestos? Rushed
reviews?
AEW for IER May 2012

4. Informed or ignorant policy making in government? Is it
evidence-based policy or policy-based evidence that is
sought on OHS?
Adam Smith Institute - source
for Government ‘thinking’ on
OHS
Critique of OHS regulations
-Risk aversion – on diseases?
-Insurance not inspection
(Boyland & Ambler 2007 et al)
AEW for IER May 2012

5. UK OHS record is flawed – and
omits occupational disease strategy
AEW for IER May 2012

6. AEW for IER May 2012

7. What the UK record really is:-
Maplecroft Global Health and Safety Risk Index (HSRI) 2009
UK is 30th out of 176 countries and 20th out of
30 OECD nations listed
Indicators including
- work related fatalities and injuries
- number of accidents causing work absences,
- number of deaths from work related diseases
- expenditure on health
- life expectancy
- government effectiveness
-regulatory quality
-the total number of ILO conventions ratified
(WHO, ILO and World Bank Data)
AEW for IER May 2012

8. Risk reduction strategies in OHS are
wrong. Where’s OH?
AEW for IER May 2012

9. HSE Board Meeting 2011. Priority sensible risk management
developments in line with Lofstedt’ ideas?
•E. Public Services
•11. Work to encourage
sensible risk management and
reduce risk averse behaviour
has included an HSE action
plan with the Scottish Schools
Equipment Research Centre to
produce a suite of material to
promote proportionate risk
management in schools. The
work has the support of the
Scottish Government Schools
Curriculum Division and the
Association of Directors of
Education in Scotland.
AEW for IER May 2012

10. Lofstedt Report
•‘Occupational health’ is mentioned around half
a dozen times
•‘Occupational diseases’ are not mentioned at all
•‘Occupational Ill health’ is not mentioned at all
•‘Occupational cancer’ is not mentioned at all
•Cancer is mentioned once with estimates of
8000 cancer deaths each year in Britain due to
past work exposures
•HSE medical services are not mentioned
AEW for IER May 2012

11. What Lofstedt Report said?
AEW for IER May 2012