'Rethink Safety' is the message behind this years annual Farm Safety Week. The campaign, running from 19-23 July, marks the 9th Farm Safety week – bringing together farming organisations across the UK and Ireland to try to promote a safe working culture and aiming to reduce the number of accidents on farms.
This year, Farm Safety Week lands amid the release of new figures from the HSE which show that sadly fatal injuries on farms in Great Britain have almost doubled in the past year from 21 fatalities in 2019/20, to 41 in 2020/21.
This year the statistics highlight that the most common causes of death are:
- Struck by moving vehicles
- Killed by animals
- Contact with machinery
- Struck by an object
- Falls from height
These main causes have not changed significantly over the last several years and in comparison to other industry sectors in the economy, farming has one of the poorest safety records.
These statistics serve as a reminder to Farmers and Estate owners to review their Health and Safety Procedures. The Health and Safety Executive website has numerous resources if you are a farm or estate owner looking to improve working practices. Of course, if you have any queries upon these resources or any other legal issues in Health and Safety do contact Sarah Polson or your usual Brodies contact.
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