Day 130 - 26 May 95 - Page 55


     
     1        A.  A national assessment, yes.
     2
     3   Q.   A national assessment?
     4        A.  To be honest, it helped us because each of those
     5        individual Environmental Health Officers had been asking
     6        for different things because they all had their different
     7        perspectives and -----
     8
     9   Q.   So the HSE did not just suddenly out of a hat think: "Hey,
    10        let us do this".  They were under some kind of not
    11        pressure, but there was an area of concern that had been
    12        developing about how to deal with all these Environmental
    13        Health Officers and their proposals and suggestions?
    14        A.  As I say, they have given me three main reasons, one we
    15        were multinational, we were in right sector; two, they  had
    16        the HOs to go to them about them specific accidents; and,
    17        three, they think could see we reported a high per centage
    18        in that particular sector.
    19
    20   Q.   You say, something you have asserted, that you reckon the
    21        reporting rate for RIDDOR accidents may be something closer
    22        to 90 per cent rather than 80 per cent, now?
    23        A.  That is based on my people doing unannounced visits,
    24        checking the accident book, seeing if all the reportable
    25        accidents have, in fact, been reported.
    26
    27   Q.   Bearing in mind the accident books, of course, do not have
    28        all the information they would need to be able to tell
    29        that, like how many days off the person took or how long
    30        they were in.  Hospital things like that?
    31        A.  Well it is quite easy to go through and ask the manager
    32        how long they have been off.
    33
    34   Q.   If they remembered?
    35        A.  They usually, if you go back, say, through 3 to 4 month
    36        period beforehand.  They can remember back that far.  There
    37        is also a check to make sure that the managers are aware of
    38        their responsibilities.
    39
    40   Q.   But they are going to under report rather than over report?
    41        A.  I do not think anybody wants to over report.
    42
    43   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  As I understand it, what you are saying is if
    44        one looks through the accidents in the accident book, the
    45        great majority of them you can put on one side, they never
    46        would be a RIDDOR accident?
    47        A.  That is correct.
    48
    49   Q.   But some of them might be?
    50        A.  Yes. 
    51 
    52   Q.   Then you say -- Mr. Morris can test you on this if he 
    53        wishes -- what you are saying was, the manager would be
    54        asked "Was that reported?"
    55        A.  Yes.
    56
    57   Q.   First of all ask a little more about it to see if it was a
    58        RIDDOR accidents, and then ask was it reported?
    59        A.  That is correct, yes.
    60

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