With injuries and fatalities on the increase in the north-west, the HSE is using its 40th anniversary to urge vigilance on common risks such as falls from height.
The start of 2015 also marks the beginning of the executive’s 40th year, but the occasion is marred slightly by worsening safety figures in the north-west.
In 2013-14, 15 people died in north-west workplaces, an increase of one over the previous year; 9,432 were injured, up by 31 over the previous 12 months.
Falls from height are still among the major concerns, and the worsening safety performance renews the need for adequate edge protection in any workplaces that are at an elevated position.
Steven Smith, HSE head of operations for the north-west, said: “The families of the workers in the north-west who sadly lost their lives last year have just had to spend the festive period without their loved ones.
“Hundreds of other workers were made ill through their work or had their lives changed forever by a major injury.”
Among the workplace deaths in the north-west in 2013-14, a total of six were in the Greater Manchester area, compared with three fatalities in Merseyside and a further six elsewhere in the region.