This assessment is about health and safety in the environment. For the P5 criteria there is a survey on a local playing area that has several uses. There is also a timescale for repairs
Page 2 Introduction
Page 3 P5
Page 12 M2
Page 14 D2
Page 16 Bibliographies
Appendix
Image 1
An effective image of health & safety measures
This assessment is about health and safety in the environment. For the P5 criteria there is a survey on a local playing area that has several uses. There is also a timescale for repairs. The M2 makes suggestions for the repairs and the D2 is justification of the recommendations.
There are also two other grading criteria's, P6 & M3. The P6 is a demonstration of first aid and the M3 is a demonstration of first aid skills on a critically injured person.
Image 2
A demonstration of cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
P5
Carry out a health and safety survey of a local environment used by a specific patient/service user group
For the main survey and the repair timescale please see appendix 1 and 2.
Image 3
Ariel image of playing fields
I decided to do my risk assessment at a local playing field that has several facilities as I thought I would be able to achieve more from it. There is also a good selection of service users. The image above shows the overall area and should help when explaining what the individual risks are and I have highlighted and numbered the areas to make the explanation easier to follow.
Although I am going to explain in detail what the risks are and whom they could affect you can see from the photos that it was a sunny day. However should the conditions have been different such as snow or rain then it would be a very different picture.
The Health and Safety Legislation cover all of the risks and should therefore be dealt with in accordance. It is the local council who are responsible for the repair and maintenance but when I contacted them to voice my concerns I did not receive a response from them.
There is a cricket pitch, football pitch, bowls green, play area, picnic area and a fishing lake. Sports men/women, children, dog walkers, fishermen/women use the area. It is also used as a picnic area.
Below are photos of the various risks with an explanation of what they are and whom they could affect as well as what the potential risks could be if the weather conditions were different.
Risk 1, damaged to high perimeter fence
This fence goes around the perimeter of the bowling green. As you can see from the photo the mesh is coming away and hanging down quite low. The fence is there to stop any footballs from entering the green as the football pitch is directly opposite.
The bowling green is mostly used by service users of an older generation. One would assume that the type of service users using it would not be quite so agile and therefore unable to move out of the way quickly when a football at high speed is hurtling towards them.
I have categorised this as a low risk but during the summer months when there is a higher usage the risk to injury would be much greater.
Risk 2, cracked seat of a swing
This swing is in the children's play area and is next to the baby swings. Although this does not seem too bad you can tell that it has gradually worsened over time.
The issue I have with it is somebody could be swinging quite high on the swing when it does break and could cause quite a nasty injury.
I have categorised this as being a moderate to high risk I do not see any injury being worsened by any weather conditions although during the summer it is more likely to break because of the high rate of usage.
Risk 3, damage to perimeter fence.
This fence goes all the way around the edge of the football pitch and it separates the woods and the fishing ...
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The issue I have with it is somebody could be swinging quite high on the swing when it does break and could cause quite a nasty injury.
I have categorised this as being a moderate to high risk I do not see any injury being worsened by any weather conditions although during the summer it is more likely to break because of the high rate of usage.
Risk 3, damage to perimeter fence.
This fence goes all the way around the edge of the football pitch and it separates the woods and the fishing lake off from the rest of the grounds.
The area has multiple uses; it is used as a football pitch at weekends during the football season, but at all other times it is used by dog walkers and children playing.
My concern is it's mostly used by children kicking a football and there is a risk that the ball could go over the fence and the child/children would climb through the fence to retrieve it. The woods are quite dense and also there is a steep embankment just 100 metres in.
I have categorised this as being a moderate risk but during the rainy season the type of injury is likely to be a more severe one due to the slippery embankment.
Risk 4, deep divot
This divot was caused by the removal of a small post. The posts in question go all down the side of the pathways and on further inspection there was about 20 of these divots.
I personally have first hand experience of what these divots can do. 6 years ago I broke my ankle by falling down a similar hole that was caused by the removal of a post.
I have categorised this as a high risk because there are so many of them. I also think that the risk of an injury is far greater than if for example there was only 1 or 2. I also think that there is also a far greater risk of injury accruing during the spring/summer months, as this is when the recreational area has a high volume of use.
Risk 5, dog faeces
This dog faeces was found right next to the children's play area. This is one of my (pardon the pun) pet hates. I myself am a regular dog walker around this area and I never take my dog anywhere without first making sure I have nappy bags to put the dog faeces into.
There is no excuse for such behaviour as there is a bin at the entrance to the park that has little plastic bags and another bin is provided to dispose of the dog faeces.
I did come across 3 other examples of this and I did take it upon myself to remove the offending item. My main concern was that the majority of them were found where children regularly play and it could cause diseases and/or infection that could be quite nasty. I have therefore categorised this as a high risk.
Risk 6, sharp edges on sign
This sign is on the edge of the football pitch where there is a high volume of people. There are not only sharp edges but rust too which itself can cause illness.
The area has multiple uses; it is used as a football pitch at weekends during the football season, but at all other times it is used by dog walkers and children playing.
The bottom of the sign is approximately 100 cm above ground level and if a young child was to be running after a ball etc and run into it, it could cause quite a nasty injury.
I have categorised this as being a moderate risk but during the football season it would be of a higher risk due to the volume of people at any one time.
Risk 7, open gate to fishing lake
This gate opens up to some steep steps, which leads to the fishing lake. The gate has no lock on it even though there is the facility to use one. The steps have slip resistant wire mesh on them but no handrails on either side. The bolt is also quite rusty.
I have categorised this as a high risk due to that fact that the steps lead to the fishing lake. I also think that the steps themselves are a health and safety issue.
I think the possibility of a serious injury or even death is equally as high at any one specific time of year. The reason I think this is although during the winter there might not be so many children about the lake might freeze over and the children might think it safe enough to go ice-skating on.
M2
Assess the risk associated with the use of chosen local environment and make recommendations for change
With the first risk (damaged high fence) it suggests that the repair be done within 3 months but I would suggest that the fence is fixed sooner. This is because there are a lot of potential accidents from various activities. I also think that the high fencing would be better served if it went all the way around the football pitch and the cricket pitch. The reason I think this is all the facilities are all within close proximity. The fencing goes around the bowls green and therefore gives no protection to any child playing in the play area from either footballs or cricket balls.
With the second risk (damaged swing) I suggest that this is fixed within 7 to 10 days. Although the seat looks quite strong and sturdy it is coming up to the warmer weather and therefore is going to get a lot more use. I could not think of any other recommendations such as a different material as I do think that the rubber that the seat is made from is more than acceptable, therefore my only recommendation would be to do annual health and safety checks to make sure all the equipment is safe to use.
With the third risk (damaged perimeter fence) I have suggested that it be fixed within 1 month. This is because on the other side of the fence there's thick dense woods and a steep slope approximately 100 meters in. Dog walkers both young and old use this area quite frequently and I therefore think there is a risk of injury not only to a person but to an animal also.
With the fourth risk (deep divot) I have suggested that this be fixed immediately. The reason I have suggested this is because I myself broke my ankle in very similar circumstances. I was still quite young when it happened but if an elderly service user or somebody with brittle bones were to fall and break a bone it could be very traumatic. I would recommend that the posts are either removed or replaces as soon as possible.
With the fifth risk (dog faeces) I have suggested that it be fixed immediately. I did whilst I was there pick up all the offending faeces that I saw. I would also suggest that the bin that has the mini waste bags in should not only be at the entrance to the recreational area but also one should be placed in a minimum of 2 other locations.
With the sixth risk (Sign with sharp edges) I have suggested that it be fixed within a 1-month time scale. The sign has sharp edges and it is at just the right height for it to cause quite a nasty injury to a young child. My recommendation would be to have slow down wrote in large letters on the floor the sign should be placed on the wall at the entrance to the park.
With the seventh risk (open gate) I have suggested that it be fixed immediately. There is the potential to cause a very serious accident here and I think this one in particular should be given an absolute priority, so much so that I did contact the local council when I got home and inform them about the possible risk. As the gate leads to the fishing lake, which is members only the gate should have a padlock on it and the members be given a key when they register.
D2
Justify recommendations made for minimising the risks as appropriate, for the setting and the service user group.
I think that all the recommendations that I have made are more than appropriate due to the nature of what the area is used for and the service users that use it.
"Dog faeces carry harmful infections, the most widely known being Toxocariasis. Human Toxocariasis is potentially a serious infection and is a direct consequence of soil or sand contamination with faeces carrying eggs of the parasite. The parasite can only infect humans if swallowed. Once swallowed the infection can last between six and 24 months. Frequently the infection is through the hands, but can also be with the dogs themselves or through inanimate objects such as wheels of toys, soles of shoes, etc. Many infected soil samples are found in children's play areas and in the streets and as a result of this, Toxocariasis is mainly found in children between 18 months and five years. Eye disorders are the most commonly reported complaint associated with Toxocariasis, although other symptoms are vague aches, dizziness, nausea, asthma and epileptic fits." (Encams.org)
The soil can only be contaminated if the dog faeces are left in situe for a period of time. It takes about 2 weeks for the eggs to mature and it is not until this time that they are infectious. Therefore if all dog owners do what they are supposed to there is a good chance that this disease could be eradicated. .
There is a dog-fouling Act, The Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996. The act allows all local authorities to designate any public area as a no foul area. This means dog owners must clean up after their pets. Under the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996 failure to clean up is an offence and a fine of up to £1,000. All local authorities have the option of allowing offenders to paying a fixed penalty fine of £50 rather than going to court. There is also the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and I think section 87 of the Act (offence of leaving litter) should cover this.
The open gate, which provides access to the fishing lake, was also another major concern for me. As a parent myself I found this possibly the most disturbing that no padlock was in place on a gate that leads to somewhere that a death could occur. In 2002 rivers and lakes accounted for 39% of the death toll in the UK and the figure is increasing all the time. In my opinion the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 applies as it states in section 1 "An organisation to which this section applies is guilty of an offence if the way in which its activities are managed or organised causes a person's death"
When I went down by the lake I lost count of the empty bottle/cans of alcohol and I think the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 applies as section 55 states "Unlawfully deposited waste etc"
I also noticed that there was also no safety ring. There is another Act that I think is appropriate to use and that is the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005
"Drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 14 and under, with children under age 5 at the highest risk. Many drowning's and near drowning's occur when children are left unattended by a pool, pond or in the bath. The majority of all drowning's and near drowning's occur between May and August. Its also a fact that the drinking of alcohol plays a large part in drowning in adults, and the consumption of alcohol should be avoided at all costs if you intend swimming of any kind". (Fire service)
As teenagers use the area quite frequently my recommendations to have this risk rectified as soon as possible did not seemed unreasonable but since I have researched the death toll in more depth it has become imperative that action should be taken even more urgently.
There is another Act that I think could cover several of the risks called The Environment Act 1995. I think this Act is usefull as section 32 states "General environmental and recreational duties." Which has a sub section that cover hedges, I'm not too sure if this covers perimiter fences such as the low fence in risk 3 but in my opinion it should.
There is far too many legislations for me to look at them thorougly but If only some of the one that I have highlited were enforced the recreational area would be a much safer place to visit.
Bibliographies
Image 1, 2 & 3, Google images
Image 4,5,6,7,8,9 & 10 Michelle Mahon's images
http://www.durham.gov.uk/durhamcc/usp.nsf/?open
http://www.encams.org/aboutus/main.asp?pageid=8&sub=1
http://www.fireservice.co.uk/safety/watersafety.php
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts
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