Health and safety performance report

Report: 4
Date: 23 March 2009
By: Director of Human Resources and Director of Resources on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

Part 1 - Director of Human Resources

1. A comparison of injuries reported on the Metropolitan Police Accident and Incident Reporting System (MetAIR) between January and December 2007, and January and December 2008 indicates:

• Total accident rate fell by 9.5%;
• Major accident rate fell by 9%;
• Over three day accident rate fell by 12.8 %;
• Slip, trip and fall accident rate fell by 17%;
• Moving vehicle accident rate fell by 15.9%;
• Injuries to police officers following assault rate fell by 0.8%;
• Injuries to PCSOs following assault rate fell by 15.1%

Part 2 - Director of Resources

2. Accidents and Incidents within Property Services are being monitored and no RIDDOR reportable events were reported in the 3 months from October 2008 to December 2009.

3. A number of Health and Safety initiatives are being progressed within Property Services to ensure the MPA/MPS are compliant with Health and Safety at Work legislation. This includes:

• in conjunction with the Home Office Scientific Branch and CO, determining a replacement for Halon gas fire extinguishers used for Public Order Duties;
• development of the Senior Designated Officer process/training applicable within each MPA building and provision of statutory/mandatory fire training;
• development of an enhanced authorised access process for high risk areas of the MPS estate;
• ensuring delivery of the MPS/MPA Corporate Health and Safety Policy relating to Letters and Statements of Health and Safety Assurance.

A. Recommendation

That members note the report.

B. Supporting information

Summary of injuries reported on the Metropolitan Police Accident and Incident Reporting System (MetAIR)

1. A summary of the injuries reported on the Metropolitan Police Accident and Incident Reporting System (MetAIR) between January and December 2007, and January and December 2008, is shown at appendix 1. In summary comparing these two reference periods indicates:

• Total accident rate fell by 9.5%;
• Major accident rate fell by 9%;
• Over three day accident rate fell by 12.8%;
• Slip, trip and fall accident rate fell by 17%;
• Moving vehicle accident rate fell by 15.9%;
• Injuries to police officers following assault rate fell by 0.8%;
• Injuries to PCSOs following assault rate fell by 15.1%

2. The total number of injuries reported on MetAIR shows a falling trend. The last three months have seen the following total number of injuries recorded on MetAIR - October 599, November 637 and December 589. These figures are lower than the corresponding three months of 2007 (October 613, November 702 and December 643). The total number of accidents has fallen in December below 600 accidents for the third time in the past two years.

Major and over three day injuries

3. A summary of the major injuries reported on MetAIR between January and December 2007, and January and December 2008 is shown at annex 2.

4. Overall numbers of major accidents continue to fall when comparing the reference periods (January - December 2007 and January - December 2008). However, it can be seen from graph at appendix two that there was an increase in the number of major injuries recorded in November 2008 (25 injuries). This increase was accounted for by Slip/trips/falls, assaults and training accidents. December showed a marked reduction compared to the preceding two months and fell below the 12 month average for this category.

5. Of the 58 Major accidents recorded on MetAIR between October and December 2008:

• 40% slipped tripped or fell (inc from height);
• 29% were classified as ‘another kind of accident’;
• 17% were physically assaulted;
• 5% hit something fixed or stationary;
• 3% were hit by a moving flying/falling object;
• 3% were injured by an animal;
• 2% were from manual handling;
• the main types of injury sustained as a result of a major injury over this three month period are as follows:
  
  • 56% - injuries to the wrists, hands and arms;
  • 7% - injuries to the shoulder/collarbone;
  • 19% - injuries to the legs, ankles and feet;
    
  • 5% - injuries to the chest;
    
  • 8% - injuries to the face;
    
  • 3% - injuries to the back;
• Training accidents accounted for 22% of the major injuries for this period compared to 30% for the previous reporting period.

6. A summary of the over three day injuries reported on MetAIR between January and December 2007, and January and December 2008 is shown at appendix 3.

7. There was a decrease in the number of reported over three day injuries from 84 in October 2008 to 78 in December 2008, as demonstrated in the table below. The annual rolling average for the year is still decreasing.

• Of the 259 over 3 day injuries recorded:
  • 39% were as a result of what is classed as “another kind of accident”;
  • 21% were as a result of being hit by a moving vehicle;
    
  • 13% were as a result of slips, trips and falls;
    
  • 12% from being physically assaulted;
• The remainder of 15% had a wide range of causations with no obvious trends.

Injury following physical assaults on Police Officers and PCSOs

8. A summary of the injuries following assault reported on MetAIR between January and December 2007, and January and December 2008 is shown at appendices 4 and 5.

9. There were 565 injuries following assaults recorded on MetAIR between October and December 2008, of which:

• 534 were to police officers;
• 31 were to PCSOs.

A monthly breakdown for October - December is shown in the tables below:

10. The total number of injuries following assault for October – December 2008 (534) shows a fall of 10 injuries when compared to the same three month period last year (544). The breakdown of the assaults on Police Officers for the reporting period October to December 2008 is as follows:

• 1.6% major injuries;
• 6% over 3 day injuries;
• 92% minor injuries.

11. The number of PCSOs who reported injuries as a result of being assaulted (appendix 5) has fallen over the 3-month reporting period, giving a total of 31 for the three months. For the same period in 2007 the total figure was 50, which shows there has been a decrease of 19 injuries over this quarter comparison. The breakdown of the assaults on PCSOs for the reporting period October to December 2008 is as follows:

• 3% over 3 days injuries;
• 97% minor injuries.

12. The overall yearly figures for injuries following physical assaults show a fall in the rate of assaults on both police officers and PCSOs.

Slips, trips and falls (including falls from height)

13. A summary of the injuries following slip, trip and falls reported on MetAIR between January and December 2007, and January and December 2008, is shown at appendix 7.

14. There were 247 injuries as a result of slips, trips and falls between October and December 2008. This number is significantly lower than the same period in 2007 (340), and as a result the annual rolling average is decreasing significantly.

15. Of the 247 slip, trips and falls:

• 9% were major injuries;
• 14% were over 3 day injuries;
• 77% were minor injuries.

Hit by a Moving Vehicle (including injury from RTAs)

16. A summary of the injuries following staff being hit by moving vehicles (including RTAs) reported on MetAIR between January and December 2007, and January and December 2008, is shown at appendix 8.

17. There was a decrease of 1 incidence following being hit by a moving vehicle from 52 in October 2008 to 51 in December 2008 (although there was a rise in November to 62). In the same period in 2007 there was also a decrease (67 to 51). The rate of injury has now risen slightly above one per thousand employees. The annual rolling average for this type of accident is decreasing very slightly.

18. Of the 165 injured staff:

• 43 were as a result of Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) whilst travelling to and from work;
• the remaining 122 injuries were as a result of POLCOLs of which in 26 incidents there was more than one person injured.

Safety and Health Risk Management Team Contact with the HSE

19. The Strategic Director (Health and Wellbeing) and the Head of the Safety and Health Risk Management Team are scheduled to meet with a team from the HSE regarding the accident reported at the previous Corporate Governance Committee relating to the officer who fell through a roof in Fulham last year.

MPS assurance process

20. The SHRMT are currently supporting the Assistant Commissioner Central Operations and Director of Resources review relevant OCU Commanders and Heads of Department assurance letters. Dip sampling and verification of assurance letters will commence shortly.

Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008

21. The Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008 came into force this month. This Act amends Section 33 of the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974, and raises the maximum penalties available to the Courts in respect of certain health and safety offences (£20k fines in lower Courts for nearly all summary offences, unlimited fines in higher Courts and imprisonment for nearly all offences - up to 12 months in Magistrates Courts and 2 years in the Crown Court). This new Legislation does not impose any new health and safety standards. As a result the current Corporate MPA/MPS Health & Safety Policy and safety management system will not require amendment to take account of this new Act.

MPA Internal Audit report

22. The MPA final internal audit report on health and safety in the MPS has been received. During the course of the audit a number of parties were interviewed including officers from (B)OCUs, Property Services and the SHRMT. The report concludes that:

• the control framework for managing health and safety is adequate but a few controls are not operating effectively. A number of areas were identified where the controls in place could be improved;
• health and safety policies and procedures are in place and are reviewed on an annual basis;
• roles and responsibilities for dealing with health and safety have been allocated to appropriately trained officers. There is a need to ensure that sufficient trained and designated fire safety officers are appointed;
• systems in place for the management of local health and safety are not always operating effectively. There is a need to ensure that regular inspections and risk assessments take place and that business groups provide a report on compliance with the MPS health and safety policy to the Strategic Health and Safety Committee;
• controls over the provision of timely, accurate and complete information on health and safety management to senior management need to be improved. The ability of the MPS to monitor adequately and report on performance is undermined by weaknesses within the MetAIR accident reporting system.

23. The report contains 20 recommendations two of which are high risk, consisting of a review of the MetAir accident reporting system and confirmation of the completion of risk assessments to the Strategic H&S Committee. The majority of recommendations relate to business group and (B)OCUs and many issues raised have previously been identified and dealt with during local SHRMT audits. The MPS Strategic Health and Safety Committee will manage the implementation of the recommendations and report on progress to the MPA.

Stephen Lawrence Review

24. The Senior Advisor First Aid escorted Dr Stone (Dr Stone sat as an expert advisor on the Stephen Lawrence inquiry) on a visit to Hendon to observe current recruit first aid training and a visit to Camden Borough to observe refresher training delivered in a local training unit. Dr Stone has been complimentary about the training observed.

HSE First Aid Training Licence visit

25. The HSE monitoring body, Scout Enterprises, carried out a monitoring visit to the MPS First Aid Training Team during February. These visits are compulsory every five years and must be passed to maintain a licence to continue training First Aid at Work. The visiting officer stated he was impressed with the standards observed.

External Independent Audit

26 The external independent health and safety audit commences in March 2009 and the audit programme is currently being finalised. The terms of reference for the audit are as follows:

• a review of MPS policies and processes for health and safety risk assessment, including the effectiveness of measures implemented to secure safe working systems, both in respect of operational policing, staff/buildings and estate;
• a review of the resources and competence of the management structure inclusive of the supporting professional advisors;
• a review of any related procedures e.g. procurement, finance, infrastructure, consultation, training and plant and equipment;
• a review of the range and quality of information relating to the Health and Safety at Work Act (HASW), with an independent view of key trends, safety cultural/behavioural and emerging issues, and a review of the methodology for benchmarking and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), internal monitoring and audit procedures.

27. Other SHRMT activity in brief:

• SHRMT co-ordinated the sampling of suspect asbestos at a serious crime scene;
• occupational health and safety advice was given to a serious crime investigation at Hounslow (B)OCU;
• a meeting has taken place between SHRMT and NPIA to discuss Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) foundation training and the health and safety responsibilities of the roles of Senior Identification Managers, Senior Investigation Officers and the Senior Evidence Recovery Managers in any mass fatality incident;
• SHRMT hosted the National Transportation Accident Investigation Branches and ACPO UK DVI to:
  • examine the range and nature of the hazards associated with disaster victim recovery in transport scenarios, the safety role of agencies involved;
  • promote a forum for future collaboration/joint working on safety related DVI matters and development of scenario specific generic risk assessments.

Summary of building related accidents and incidents reported to Property Services:

28. Between October and December 2008 MetAir indicates there were 25 minor property related accidents involving MPA/MPS staff reported on. None of these were RIDDOR reportable.

29. Between October and December 2008 there were three reported accidents involving employees of Property Services contractors. None of these resulted in RIDDOR reportable events.

30. An investigation is being undertaken following notification of an alleged Avian Flu incident at Tooting Police Station. Property Services are liaising with SHRMT and Occupational Health. A Workplace Condition report is being prepared.

Halon replacement

31. The Home Office Scientific Branch is project managing this work and a trial took place at MPS premises at Gravesend on 28–29 January 2009. The Home Office is currently preparing a formal report and at this stage there is no obvious replacement for Halon but a recommendation concerning a replacement substance is expected. At present it is understood that DEFRA will not allow any exemption past 2010 although the exact date has yet to be confirmed and further clarification is being sought.

Senior Designated Officer (SDO) / Fire Training Process

32 Papers relating to the SDO and mandatory Fire Training processes were submitted to the Strategic Health and Safety Committee on 22 January 2009. These were approved and further papers are being prepared for submission to the next Training Management Board meeting.

Access by authorised personnel – to high-risk areas

33. The purpose of this initiative is to ensure statutory compliance so that only authorised personnel can gain access to restricted areas of the MPS estate e.g. confined spaces, plant rooms, boiler/electrical distribution rooms and roof areas. A meeting was held during January with representatives from DoI and Central Procurement to discuss running an extended trial of a proprietary system. However, further liaison is required to ensure that the proposed system is compatible with the plan to develop an Integrated Access Management System (IAMS) across the MPS estate.

34. Property Services will be meeting DoI before the end of February to discuss the IAMS implementation and clarify if the project is going ahead. If there is a long delay alternative arrangements will need to be made and this may involve progressing with an interim solution.

Letters of Assurance

35. As a requirement of the Corporate Health and Safety Policy signed by the Commissioner, a statement of Assurance has been prepared and signed by the Director of Property Services; Director of Finance Services is preparing another statement of Assurance on behalf of the remainder of DoR. Once completed they will be submitted to the Director of Resources who will sign a letter of Assurance to the Commissioner as part of the Management Board process prior to the Commissioner sending a letter of Assurance to the MPA. The target date for completion is April 2009.

36. The MPA/MPS has been in contact with the HSE regarding the following specific incidents:

• a lift failure occurred at NSY. One member of staff received minor injuries and a full investigation has been carried out The HSE have been provided with an incident investigation report and associated statutory inspection documentation and no further action is expected;
• the HSE has requested a visit to the cooling tower at Stoke Newington Police Station. This is part of their routine UK campaign to control legionella;
• London Fire Brigade have issued a non compliance notice at Bethnal Green police station which required remedial work to be undertaken concerning emergency fire doors and the appointment of a Responsible Person for the building. Work is in hand to undertake the required remedial work.

Chingford Police Station

37. A serious incident occurred at this location when a contractor responding to an electrical failure at the building removed a protective interlock from the main electrical supply panel and re-energised the system with potentially serious Health and Safety consequences. Property Services is currently investigating and will implement improvements to prevent a reoccurrence of this type of incident and ensure compliance with legislation.

C. Race and equality impact

There are no immediate implications on equality and diversity arising from this report. The team will monitor all health and safety matters, including MetAir statistics, to determine whether there is any disproportionate impact on any particular group, and, where there is, take appropriate action.

D. Financial implications

1. To date trials for Halon replacement have indicated that there will be additional costs and changes to operational procedures. The exact costs are unknown at this time.

2. There will be a cost implication for the development of the SDO process, which will include training for SDOs and Nominated Persons, and the mandatory fire training process. The exact costs will be determined once the Training Management Board has given its formal approval to proceed.

3. Reserve bid of £200k was approved and included in the 2008/09 budget for the installation of an access control system to high-risk areas within the MPS estate but commitment to this project is held pending a decision on the IAMS programme (part of the DOI Capital Programme).

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report author: Nick Kettle, Head of Safety and Health Risk Management and Peter Brown, Assistant Director – Head of Compliance, Property Services, MPS.

For information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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