Posted By Tabs
Quite a good reply, measured and calm but getting across the point (almost) that the law does not (realistically) stop an individual making the choice to override personal safety in an extreme emergency.

In tort there is the principal of "importance of article/object" I seem to recall. It might be helpful to establish the same principal in H&S law.

... but to do so for cases such as a drowning is to say that "we do not expect the emergency forces to be able to foresee the situation that leads to an employee trying to rescue a drowning person".

This is blatantly wrong of course.

So perhaps we should not be looking at lessening the requirements of the law (which is there to protect all employees, even the brave ones) but instead looking harder at the part of the law requiring the management to foresee the risks and better equip / train the employees to be able to cope with them.

Can we cover all situations? Of course not ... but there are some basics such as water rescue which have actually been removed from training (I think the BBC pointed to Cornwall as the only force training their Police in water rescue now). There is no force in the UK that does not have a drowning risk on their 'patch' is there?

And Councils ... I know floatation aids are prime targets for vandalism, but there must be a way to provide some help at large bodies of water.

But today, the Prime Minister is concentrating on plastic bags ...

Posted By Robert K Lewis
Listening to her interview on Radio 4 this morning I had this uncomfortable sense that she may well be on top in writing but her spoken command of her brief seemed a little hesitant. This area will be critical in future if she is to have real impact.

Bob

Posted By Colin Reeves
Concur totally with Garry - the first and last paras on their own are punchy, the statement as a whole is diluted by the waffle in the middle.

Colin

Posted By Robert K Lewis
Jim

Newness is no excuse 1 bad interview equals years of catch up with every interview on top of her game from hereon in.

Not yet convinced.

Bob

Posted By Robert K Lewis
Anything make you think we are back on an oft repeated bemoaning of the inability of IOSH and the HSE to give H&S a better image. It seems to crop up everywhere.

It is a bit like old Father Time wandering around industries and organisations looking for his next victim. We do not seem able to convince anybody that we are the best defence against his calling card.

Bob