Individuals with jobs in occupational health and those on the lookout for occupational health vacancies may be concerned to hear that the number of work-related deaths in the UK rose between April 2010 and March 2011 compared with the previous 12-month period, figures produced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reveal.
In total, there were 171 fatalities of this kind, which was up from 147 the previous year.
However, it was not all bad news. The HSE also noted that the number of major injuries suffered by workers in 2010-11 totalled 24,726, which was a fall from the 26,268 recorded in 2009-10. Also, there were 90,653 other injuries serious enough to keep people off work for four or more days, but this was again down on the previous 12-month period, when 96,427 cases of this nature were recorded.
Additionally, the number of individuals who said they were suffering from an illness caused or made worse by their work had fallen from 1.3 million to 1.2 million. This is no doubt in part due to the work done by people with jobs in occupational health.
Responding to the figures, chair of the HSE Judith Hackitt said: “The fall in the number of people being injured by work is of course to be welcomed but we did also see an increase in the number of fatalities during the year.
“Britain can be proud that it has one of the best health and safety records in Europe but as the increase in the number of fatalities makes clear we can never let up in our commitment to addressing the serious risks which continue to cause death and injury in workplaces.”
She went on to note that the HSE will continue to work with employers and workers to maintain and improve health and safety standards. This may lead to a rise in occupational health vacancies.