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Health and Safety Directorate

Accident and Incident Reporting

Report an accident or incident / near miss using the Online MySafety Reporting Form

 takes you through the steps of how to report an accident, incident or a near miss.

The on-line form takes 3 to 5 minutes to complete. You will need a few pieces of information before you start (you will be prompted by a series of questions as you go along);

  1. Type of incident; Accident/Incident, Ill Health, Service Disruption or Near miss.
  2. If someone was injured; their name, contact number and where they work.
  3. Information about what happened and where it happened.
  4. If immediate action was taken, what was it (e.g. first aid administered).

What is an accident? 

An unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage, injury or ill health.  All accidents, however minor must be reported to HSD via MySafety  

Examples of what should be reported

  • Injuries from needles, scalpels, broken glass.
  • Slips, trips and falls.
  • All occasions where a first aider was required.
  • Injuries resulting from being hit by a moving vehicle

What is an incident?

Near miss: an event not causing harm, but has the potential to cause injury, ill health or damage to property. 

Examples of what should be reported

  • Window unit falling from a building site.
  • Door being propped open by a fire extinguisher.
  • Fire doors not closing properly.
  • HEPA filters dumped into clinical waste bulk bin.
  • All fires.
  • Person trapped in a lift.
  • Collapsed shelving unit.

Undesired circumstance: a set of conditions or circumstances that have the potential to cause injury or ill health.

Examples of what should be reported

  • Untrained nurses handling heavy patients.
  • Porters up-ending wheelie bins into large bulk bins.
  • Unauthorised access by contractors.
  • Cleaners entering CL2 or CL3 laboratories.  

Why do accidents, incidents / near misses have to be reported? It is critical that all injuries and accidents, including near misses, be reported so that they can be investigated and the causes determined and eliminated. The reporting of near misses gives us an opportunity to prevent future injuries or ill health.

Who should do the reporting? Everyone and anyone – no login or permission is required to report an incident using the online MySafety form.

Security said they will report it; do I still need to report it? Yes, please. Security have a separate reporting system that does not always filter through to Health & Safety. 

Can’t I just tell my Safety Coordinator or Line Manager? Some local rules state that accident and incident report must go through Safety Coordinators or Line Managers. Please check that this is not the case for you. If in doubt, please report it yourself.

What will Health & Safety do next? We will carry out an investigation which will help you to:

  • Identify why your existing control measures failed and what improvements or additional measures are needed
  • Plan to prevent the incident from happening again
  • Point to areas where your risk assessment needs reviewing
  • Improve risk control in your workplace in the future

Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 2013

RIDDOR is a regulation that legally requires QM to report certain injuries, occupational diseases and dangerous occurrences to the Health and Safety Executive (enforcing authority).

QM Policy - Accident & Incident Management and Reporting

Other Information Sources

http://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/index.htm

http://www.hse.gov.uk/toolbox/managing/accidents.htm

Primary legislation

RIDDOR - Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013

Key Health & Safety Contacts

For Advice and Assistance at QM, contact the H&S Manager / Advisor for your Faculty / PS  or the subject lead at http://www.hsd.qmul.ac.uk/contact-us/

All H&S staff can be contacted via the help desk at hs-helpdesk@qmul.ac.uk

 

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