Enjoy the festivities
December 1st 2007 The President of IOSH has
called on the media to stop
claiming his profession
wants to ban Christmas.
In a letter to UK national
newspaper editors Ray Hurst
says "Health and safety is
being blamed for banning
Santa from riding his sleigh,
requiring him to wear a
seatbelt and for banning
Christmas lights. But as the
President of IOSH, let me
just assure you and your
readers that we don't
believe in banning
Christmas. We want people
to enjoy the festivities in a
fun way, but a safe way.
"It's true to say that
there are occasions where
health and safety has gone
too far. And there are even
more occasions where
health and safety law is
being mis-used to stop
people doing things that
are, for the most part,
harmless. Health and safety
professionals are not
interested in these things –
we'd rather focus on
preventing a recurrence of
serious incidents like
Buncefield, or Stockline."
But Ray also pointed out:
"There are accidents
associated with celebrating
Christmas. For example, the
lady who was walking
through St Neots when
Christmas lights fell down
on top of her, leaving her
with a broken shoulder and
other injuries.
"It's important to
remember to take a
balanced view of safety and
health risks; let's all be risk
aware but take steps to
combat the most dangerous
hazards and in the
meantime enjoy Christmas." More articles from IOSH: | 
