Event highlights the importance of health and safety at work

 

Discussing health and safety in the workplaceThe Vale of Glamorgan Council's public protection department has held an event at The Vale Hotel, Golf and Spa Resort in Hensol to raise awareness of European Safety and Health at Work Week.

 

Part of a wider European initiative organised by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, each year a theme is chosen to highlight work-based issues for employers and employees. This year's theme was ‘Lighten the Load’, dedicated to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), which are the most common form of ill-health disorders at work, both in the UK and across Europe.

 

Work-related MSDs affect one million people each year in Great Britain alone. Problems include back pain, neck, upper and lower limb disorders, and repetitive strain injuries.

 

MSDs are mainly caused mainly by manual handling, frequent bending and twisting, heavy physical work and whole-body vibration.

 

Hotel staff and local business representatives were among the 90 people who attended the event, which featured a number of presentations from work safety organisations and information packs to raise awareness to try to prevent and reduce MSDs.

 

For further information, please call the Vale Council's public protection commercial team (environmental health) on 01446 709105 or email RegServ@valeofglamorgan.gov.uk

 

Caption (from left to right): Arthur O’Leary from the Glenbrook Hotel in Barry finding out about musculoskeletal disorders with Marc Adams Jones, the Vale Council's environmental health officer, and Jackie Peacock from Pristine Condition Ltd.

 

06/12/2007