Health and safety chiefs report more major injuries in Brighton and Hove

Health and safety chiefs have recorded a rise in major injuries in workplaces in Brighton and Hove.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said that 68 people suffered a major injury at work in Brighton and Hove in 2012-13, according to provisional figures. This compared with 64 in the previous year.

The rise comes as the comparable national figure fell by more than 10 per cent.

The HSE said that no deaths at work were recorded in either year.

But a 73-year-old woman’s death has been reported under health and safety legislation since the current year – 2013-14 – started.

Maureen Upton, 73, from Hove, died after a fall in a Brighton hospital in May.

The HSE said: “The Health and Safety Executive is urging local businesses to focus on their legal responsibility to ensure lives are not put at risk and make the safety of workers their top priority for 2014.

“The fresh appeal comes as new figures show that 22 people lost their lives while at work across the South East in 2012-13 and 2,702 suffered a major injury.

“This compares to 17 deaths and 3,005 major injuries the previous year.”

High-risk industries nationally include construction, agriculture, manufacturing and waste and recycling. They accounted for two thirds of work-related deaths in 2012-13.

Mike Wilcock, the HSE’s head of operations for the south east, said: “The families of those south east workers who lost their lives last year had to face Christmas without them.

“And hundreds of other workers have had their lives changed forever by a major injury.

“While the number of workplace deaths has decreased nationally, they have increased across the south east counties and it serves as a stark reminder of why we need good health and safety in workplaces.

“I therefore urge employers to spend their time tackling the real dangers that workers face and to stop worrying about trivial matters or pointless paperwork.

“It’s important to remember that while we still have one of the lowest rates of workplace deaths in Europe, one death is still one too many.

“I would urge businesses to focus on helping to cut the number of deaths in 2014.”