A Welsh health board has been fined £160,000 after three of its employees were permanently injured using power tools. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Powys Teaching Health Board failed to carry out proper risk assessments on three workers who went on to be diagnosed with hand arm vibration syndrome (HAVS).
All three employees were routinely required to operate handheld power tools such as lawn mowers, strimmers and hedge cutters. However the HSE found there was no monitoring or any estimate of exposure to vibration even though employees - particularly during the summer months - operated handheld power tools for several hours a day.
The investigation identified that the health board had failed to properly assess the levels of exposure to its employees and that information, instruction and training given to staff was limited. It also found that the health board had ignored requests from its own occupational health department to conduct a risk assessment.
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The lack of monitoring, assessment, training and health surveillance had allowed employees to operate handheld power tools for a "significant period", in some cases several decades, without having the necessary measures in place to reduce the risk, said the HSE. This led to three employees being diagnosed with HAVS.
Powys Teaching Health Board of Glasbury House, Bronllys Hospital, Bronllys, Powys, Wales, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. They were fined £160,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,599 at Wrexham Magistrates’ Court on November 22.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Joe Boast said: "This was a case of the health board completely failing to grasp the importance of managing its staff's exposure to vibration while using handheld power tools.
"Employers should conduct a full assessment of the vibration magnitude and exposure duration, before reviewing whether employees are at risk. There is a simple online calculator to help employers complete this process. If the health board had followed the free guidance, they would not have exposed employees to risk and possibly have prevented the ill health that has been suffered."
Symptoms and effects of HAVS include:
- tingling and numbness in the fingers which can result in an inability to do fine work (for example, assembling small components) or everyday tasks (for example, fastening buttons);
- loss of strength in the hands which might affect the ability to do work safely;
- the fingers going white (blanching) and becoming red and painful on recovery, reducing the ability to work in cold or damp conditions such as outdoors.
Carol Shillabeer, chief executive of Powys Teaching Health Board, said: "Powys Teaching Health Board fully accepts today's verdict and we apologise to affected staff and their families. We have ensured that learning has been put into effect, and we have made crucial improvements to prevent such events from happening again.
"We have a strong commitment to the health, safety and wellbeing and hope the improvements we have made provide reassurance to staff and to the public."
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