Whilst on the subject of Risk Assessments etc, just seen this in today's Telegraph:
Farmer Falls Down Drain at Safety Demo A farmer is recovering after falling down an open drain and injuring her ankle at a health and safety demonstration. Tania Foster, 45, damaged her Achilles tendon when she stumbled down the hole at the event organised by the Health and Safety Executive. The mother-of-two, from Capenhurst, Cheshire, said: "It would be funny if it wasn't so painful." More than 200 farmers were invited to the safety day at Grange Farm, in Churton, near Chester, on Tuesday. Speaking ahead of the event, Tony Trenear, the HSE agricultural inspector said: "The day is designed to make farmers take health and safety matters more seriously." An alarming number of incidents take place in this industry, many of which could be avoided with a few sensible precautions." Mrs Foster said: "I think they should listen to their own advice. "As farmers, none of us want any injuries on our farms and getting some guidance is fine. "But now, because of the health and safety people, I am injured at one of our busiest times of year. "As my husband Gary says, they wouldn't have found any open drains on our farm." A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive said a risk assessment of the hole had been carried out but it was not deemed a serious risk. He added: "The HSE policy is about serious risk management not risk elimination as you can never get an entirely risk-free workplace. "The hole had been seen but it was up against a wall and therefore thought unlikely to be a risk. "Unfortunately we have been caught out by circumstance, but it emphasises the need to be vigilant at all times." David Mack
