Accident Reporting Procedures (OBUHSN-11)

Accident, incident, dangerous occurrence and diseases reporting procedures and investigations.

Introduction

This Health & Safety Notice should be read and understood by all employees of Oxford Brookes University.

It is the responsibility of all persons employed by the University to ensure that all Accidents/Incidents including those to students, contractors' staff or visitors are reported correctly as outlined below.

Contact

Health and Safety enquiries

+44 (0) 1865 603060

healthandsafety@brookes.ac.uk

Definitions

Under the terms of the Oxford Brookes University Health and Safety Policy, an accident/incident shall include "Accident", "Incident", "Near Miss" and "Dangerous Occurrence" as defined below:

An incident or near miss is an unexpected or unplanned event which has the potential to cause injury or which could result in damage to or loss of property.
An accident is an unexpected or unplanned event that results in injury to people. This also includes an act of non-consensual physical violence done to a person at work.

A dangerous occurrence is an occurrence as listed in the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences (RIDDOR) Regulations (see Appendix: Accident Reporting Procedures). It must be notified to the appropriate enforcing authority by the quickest possible means and reported on Form F2508 or an equivalent form acceptable to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) within seven days.

A reportable disease is one of the 47 defined in schedule 3 part 1 of the Regulations that will need to be reported to the Health & Safety Executive when linked to specified types of work and diagnosed by a registered medical practitioner. It must be notified to the appropriate enforcing authority by the quickest possible means and reported on Form F2508A or an equivalent form acceptable to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) within seven days, by the Senior Occupational Health Advisor.

Immediate action after an accident

When an accident occurs, person(s) present at the scene should immediately get assistance and some of the following actions may be necessary.

Seek the assistance of the nearest first aider, (signs listing first aiders, or giving 01865 60 3060 as a contact point are displayed in all Faculties/Directorates and they can also be found on the electronic phone directory).
Render safe any equipment involved or likely to be involved.
On any Campus or Halls of Residence, call the emergency services (Police, Ambulance, or Fire) from internal University telephones by dialling 9-999. Callers should state clearly which emergency service is required, where the service is required and a telephone number on which the emergency service operator can contact the caller. After calling the emergency services, please dial 01865 60 3060 from any other phone to alert the main security control room.
If a person, injured as the result of an accident, is sent to hospital for treatment, the Safety Team must be informed as soon as possible.
In the event of a Dangerous Occurrence (see explanation in the Appendix: Accident Reporting Procedures), the Safety Team must be informed as soon as possible.

Reporting of the accident, incident, near miss or dangerous occurrence

As soon as any necessary immediate action has been taken, the accident/incident must be reported to the Safety Team by a member of staff present at the scene, or the individual involved in the accident/incident. Report the accident/incident using a form in ServiceNow.

Any serious accidents must be reported to the Safety Team immediately and the Accident/Incident Report Form completed as soon as possible.

The form must be completed within 3 days of the event. It is important that this reporting procedure is carried out promptly since it may be necessary under certain circumstances to:

report the matter to the statutory enforcing authorities
initiate either formal or informal investigations/enquiries
record the details for legal and compensation cases.

The requirement to report an accident/incident applies equally if the person involved is a member of University staff, a student, visitor or contractor. In the case of contractors' staff, the person involved should also report the accident to his/her own manager/supervisor.

All incidents such as near misses or any dangerous occurrence that may have the potential for something serious must be reported.

Any accident/incident that occurs off-site whilst in the discharge of University business (e.g. field studies) resulting in the injured party being taken to hospital must be reported as soon as possible to the University Safety Team and the Accident/Incident Report Form completed as soon as possible. Any more minor accident/incident may be reported in the usual way on return to the University.

Any enquiries from The Press or other body about an accident/incident should be referred to the Vice Chancellors Group or delegated appropriate person for official comment. (This does not prejudice a Trade Union's right to comment under the auspices of the designated union).

Faculty/Directorate Administrators must ensure that if an accident/incident results in the injured person/s being absent from work for more than five days, excluding the day of the accident/incident but including weekends and public holidays, that the Safety Team be informed at once.

The Human Recourses Directorate, Safety Team and the Senior Occupational Health Advisor should be advised of the return of a member of staff from any period of absence resulting from injuries caused by an accident/incident whilst in the discharge of their duties.

The Safety Team should also be informed by the Personal Tutor, Dean of Faculty/Director of Directorate of any student absent from his/her course for more than three days as a result of an accident/incident occurring at the University.

Onward reporting of accidents/incidents

All accidents/incidents resulting in the loss of working time of more than 7 consecutive days excluding the day of the accident but including weekends and public holidays, together with certain specified injuries or diseases and dangerous occurrences must be reported to the appropriate enforcing authority. The Safety Team is responsible for such notification.

Under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR), Oxford Brookes University has a statutory requirement to report all such accidents/incidents, etc., to the HSE within 7 days of the event on an approved form. The Safety Team will carry out the onward reporting. It is therefore imperative that all serious accidents/incidents including those to visitors and contractors are reported immediately to the Safety Team ahead of the Accident Report Form.