Accessibility statement

Accident and incident reporting

Accidents

  • Accidents are unplanned events which cause harm (illness or injury) or damage to, or loss of, property.
  • If you have an accident it is your responsibility to report the nature of the accident using the on-line accident / incident report form.
  • A copy of the form will automatically be sent to:
    • The Departmental Health & Safety Advisor
    • Biology Infrastructure
    • University Health & Safety Department
    Notification of the accident will also be sent to the Line Manager of the person involved in the accident to ensure they are aware of the accident, and are able to take appropriate and timely action to minimise similar accidents occurring in the future.
  • If for any reason you are unable to use the on-line accident report form you should report via your line manager or the Biology Infrastructure Office (B/F010)
  • The purpose of reporting all accidents is to see if there is anyway that the Department or the University can learn from the accident and try and avoid it happening again. It is not system designed to proportion blame. Don't be reluctant to fill it in because you feel the accident is minor and maybe due to your own carelessness.

Incidents

  • Incidents are events which could have caused harm but they did not do so, i.e. near misses.
  • For example, you drop a large instrument and it hits the floor but not your foot; you fall off a stool but manage to break your fall by your brilliant athletic prowess, even though you could have hurt yourself. In such cases we need to know what happened, not to blame you, but to think how we might avoid an accident next time.
  • The on-line accident report form should be used to report all incidents, as described above.