Data Protection & The Accident Book
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IN THIS ISSUE |
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WELCOME |
In this issue, it is refreshing to be able to address an issue that is neither critical nor life-threatening, as has been the case in a number of recent articles. I want to draw your attention to something that needs to be addressed before the end of the year but the urgency is a matter of complying with legislation rather than something that could cause real harm or damage.
I’m referring to the need for organisations to comply with the Data Protection Act. What does that have to do with health and safety? you may be thinking. The reason is that if accidents or dangerous incidents occur, they need to be recorded in the accident book and most books that are currently in use do not comply with data protection requirements.
It’s all a case of keeping personal information confidential, thereby ensuring it is not viewed by people who have no right to see it. Anyway, there are ways around it, as you will see in the article, but there is a time limit and therefore it would be wise not to procrastinate on this issue.
David Skews, (CEO)
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DATA PROTECTION & THE ACCIDENT BOOK |
It seems that the Data Protection Act has caught up with one of the mainstays of health and safety, namely the ubiquitous Accident Book. The primary concern of the Data Protection Act is to safeguard personal information – ensuring it is not abused, misused or even disclosed to people who don’t have just cause to view it. The Accident Book, on the other hand, is required to record information about individuals, unfortunate incidents that occur to them in the workplace and perhaps the consequences of such incidents. That sort of information can get quite personal and therefore there is a clash between the need to record details of accidents and the need to safeguard personal information.
The problem is not so much the recording of personal information but the fact that the traditional design of accident book permits other people to view personal details that have been entered from previous accidents. In other words, if you should be unfortunate enough to have an accident at work, or even a near miss, when you go to enter details into the accident book you may be able to view home addresses and even personal medical information about other people. Of course your information is then available for others to see subsequently.
Even worse, in many organisations, the accident book is often left in an open office where it is readily available for any employee, or even visitor, to peruse almost at their leisure. Under the Data Protection Act, personal information must not be disclosed by any means and therefore every organisation using the traditional form of accident book needs to change their accident recording process.
The Health and Safety Executive is well aware of the problem and has issued a press release on the matter. In addition, they have designed and are making available a revised accident book that helps organisations to comply with the Data Protection Act, whilst still fulfilling the requirement to maintain a comprehensive record of accidents and incidents.
The new book allows full details of accidents to be recorded, along with details of those affected by the accidents. However, the personal information about individuals can be easily detached for storage in an alternative secure location. The new book doesn’t automatically guarantee compliance with the Data Protection Act, since compliance also depends on having a process in place to move personal data from the accident book to a secure location along with the necessary disciplines to ensure this is done consistently and confidentially. Of course you don’t have to use the HSE’s new book as long as you have an accident recording process in place that satisfies data protection as well as health and safety requirements.
An added benefit of the new book, as produced and sold by the Health and Safety Executive, is that it contains information on how to prevent accidents from occurring and how to administer first aid if they do occur in spite of everyone’s best endeavours. Since they contain such useful information, the books represent a ready reference source to complement other educational and informational arrangements.
If you are still using the old style of accident book, you have a short lead-in time in which to make the necessary transition. In this time you need to replace all accident books with new style books (either those available from the Health & Safety Executive or a suitable alternative) agree an operating procedure for the new books and educate all members of staff, particularly managers, first aiders and appointed persons, on how to operate the new process.
The deadline for all of this is the end of the year – i.e. 31st December 2003, which isn’t all that long a period given all that needs to be done.
If you prefer the Health and Safety Executive’s Accident Book, these can be obtained from HSE Books on telephone number 01787 881165 at a cost of £4.75 (+VAT). Alternatively, you may prefer to design your own version that will more closely fit with your operating process.
See Concepts for a broader perspective on Managing Health & Safety
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David Skews, (CEO)
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EDP Health Safety & Environment Consultants Ltd
Lakeside, Alexandra Park, Prescot Road, St. Helens, Merseyside, UK
Telephone: +44(0)1744 766000
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