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News release

01 April 2011 - NR 16/11

Health and safety organisation reaches remotest areas of Scotland

Cutting workplace deaths and injuries in Scotland’s highlands and islands will be the aim of a new branch of the world’s largest organisation for health and safety.

Some 23 people died and 2,548 suffered serious injuries at work in Scotland during 2009/2010. Now, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) is hoping that the launch of its Highlands and Islands Branch today (1 April), will play a part in bringing down these shocking statistics from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

To make its mark, the Branch will hold events and share cutting-edge health and safety practices between professionals whose job it is to protect the country’s working population. This will all play a part in driving up standards.

IOSH members and would-be members from Inverness, to Moray in the east, the far north coast of the mainland, the Western Isles and the islands of Orkney and Shetland, will find they can much more easily access the benefits available to them.

Branch chair Helen Beveridge said: “This is fantastic for the members and future members we have across the more remote areas of Scotland. IOSH’s core aim is to reach the highest standards in health and safety, so that employees are protected from illness, injury, or death at work.

“Starting this Branch was about making sense of the geographical membership and getting the resources to go out and deliver the IOSH message to more places than are currently accessible. If we are able to reach more health and safety practitioners in remote areas, that will have a positive impact on workplaces. None of our members should be cut off from what IOSH has to offer.”

This will mean that health and safety experts working in some of the most prolific industries across these regions – construction, public services such as councils, emergency services and the NHS, as well as forestry, fishing and farming – will be able to share and get new best practice examples to take into the workplace.

IOSH Networks and International Director Sarah Hamilton said the Highlands and Islands Branch was an important step for IOSH as it meant it had now reached all corners of the UK.

“The goal of having more IOSH branches and groups is to improve standards of health and safety so every worker has the best protection against injury and ill health. And we hope that our increased presence across Scotland will do just that,” Ms Hamilton added.

The Branch hosts its first meeting at the Kingsmill Hotel in Inverness on Thursday 7 April, with the topic ‘Safety at Level Crossings’, and welcomes members as well as non-members.

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Notes for editors:

IOSH is the Chartered body for health and safety professionals. With more than 40,000 members in 85 countries, we’re the world’s biggest professional health and safety organisation.

We set standards, and support, develop and connect our members with resources, guidance, events and training. We’re the voice of the profession, and campaign on issues that affect millions of working people.

IOSH was founded in 1945 and is a registered charity with international NGO status.