Should an accident book be a book?

freddie_2

DD had a small accident in a soft play centre on some equipment. The guard covering the offending object has slipped down and DD got cut.

Staff did fill in an accident sheet but I thought all accidents had to be recorded in a proper book, not just a single piece of A4 paper.

Also at the time we were not aware that the guard had moved as it was the same on the other close equipment. It was only later taht I noticed further away equipment did have the guard on it. Thats how we knew the others must have slipped down. I mentioned it to staff but it was not recorded on the sheet (that I saw) that the guard had actually moved.
Should this have been noted?

Main concern is that this is a relatively new place and was excellent, DD really enjoyed it but whats to stop them 'loosing' the piece of paper that the accident was recorded on.

System

They should have a BL510 Accident Book and record the details in that.

seadee

They need to have a system of recording and reporting accidents.
They don't need to use a BL510

dacouch

I thought an accident book had to conform to the DPA eg it carbonated and the part with any medical information had to be removed from the book and put somewhere secure to prevent anyone else looking through the accident book and discovering personal details in particulare medical details about other employees

Rowena_Lee

Employers can use their own accident recording system but ensure that records are confidential.
Yes, it should be conform to the DPA

freddie_2

Thanks all, although I am still unsure it it is meant to be in a proper book!

If it is only on a sheet how can you be sure they are keeping proper records?

bap98189

A few points:

1) An accident book is only required for companies that employ 10 or more people at any one time.

2) The accident book is for reporting injuries to employees only. There is no need for injuries to non-employees to be recorded in it, although it is recommended that they are.

3) No, you do not have to use an actual book. The employer can use any method of recording accidents, so long as it contains the required information and is stored properly. Most companies buy and use a BL510 book because it's convenient, but there is no requirement to do so. Can you imagine how big a book would be needed for a site with say 50,000 staff. It would be impractical to use a single book.

4) If they were recording details of the injury, then yes they should have written down that the guard had slipped. One of the main reasons for recording these details are so they can be reviewed at a later date to see how the company can improve safety. To do this, the cause of the accident needs to be recorded.