Ramblers Incident Report 5
1st October 2010 – 31st March 2011
Introduction
This is the fifth report offering analysis of incidents that have occurred on Ramblers Led Walks. Since the introduction of new incident reporting procedures in 2009 there has been an increase in the number of reports received. While the number of incidents reported continues to rise there is, however, no underlying reason to believe that more incidents are taking place, merely that reporting is becoming more of a standard practice – a key recommendation of the Barton report[1].
Recording accurate descriptions of incidents allows the Ramblers to ensure it has adequate insurance cover for members, helps raise the profile of risk management within the organisation, identify any training needs and helps us provide appropriate guidance to walk leaders.
The categorisation of incidents is:
· Near miss - Incident that may have the potential to cause injury or harm
· Minor incident - No risk to life, no outside help is required to resolve the incident
· Medium incident - Potential risk to life, possibility of seeking outside help considered
· Serious incident - Immediate danger to life, outside help required to resolve the incident
· Major incident - A serious incident which, for a variety of reasons, requires an internal investigation by the Ramblers
Main Findings
1. 58 incidents were reported. Two on Get Walking Keep Walking walks which are recorded separately, thus the main findings of the report is based on 56 incidents
2. 30% of casualties were male, 70% were female. The youngest casualty was 30 years old, the oldest 83 years, the average age of a casualty is 63 years (ages were not provided for 5 casualties)
3. 21% of incidents took place in October, closely followed by 20% in November. The lowest percent, 13% took place in March
4. Eight incidents were reported within 2-4 days, although most incidents took 8-13 days to be reported. The longest period to report an incident was +100 days
5. 46 of incidents were minor, and 45% were medium, 5% were serious and 2% major incidents. There were no near misses reported
6. Unfortunately there were two fatalities reported, both males.
7. One incident involved multiple casualties (2 people were injured when a stile collapsed)
8. 30% of casualties required assistance from the emergency services
9. 63% of casualties required hospital treatment.
10. One incident required further investigation (a fatal road traffic accident)
11. Broken bones were the most common injury representing 48%, followed by cuts and bruises 23%
12. 89% of casualties were members, with 11% being non members
13. Cause of incident
Road walking
In October 2010 there was a road traffic accident which unfortunately resulted in a fatality. During the same month two further incidents were reported whilst walking along or crossing roads. These act as a somber reminder that highlights the need to plan accordingly for potential dangers on walks where road crossing/walking is involved. Navigation and Leadership includes a section dedicated to safety considerations whilst organising and leading walks (module 3, page 70). It’s a good idea for all Walk Leaders to refresh their memory from time to time and is something that should be covered in training sessions.
Developments
In the last Incident Report we highlighted that a number of Groups and members of the public had reported to us a delay in the response of the emergency services following control room staff being unable to interpretate grid references. The Ramblers has decided to pursue the issue with the Ambulance Trusts, where the problem seemed to lie. Having written to all the Trusts we are pleased to announce that South Western Ambulance Trust have agreed to update their software to allow the input of grid reference, Sat Nav and GPS data. We await the responses of other Ambulance Trusts.
A number of new resources are now available online for Groups and Walk Leaders. These include the latest edition of the Walk Leaders Checklist, ‘Navigation and Leadership – A manual for walkers’ being available online and two Powerpoint presentations to aid Groups running in-house Walk Leader training events. Guidance can be found at the Led Walks page; www.ramblers.org.uk/Volunteer/AreaGroup/Led+Walks/Led+Walks.htm
In February 2011 the first ever Walk Leader newsletter – the Leaders Column was sent out. It has been warmly received by over 1,400 Walk Leaders who had registered as Walk Leaders. If you would like to be emailed the next edition, please register at www.ramblers.org.uk/Volunteer/LedWalksForm
Karen Inkster
Led Walks Officer
May 2011
Contents
Breakdown of incidents:
1. Number of incidents and number of casualties involved
2. Age and gender breakdown
3. Month of year incidents took place
4. Speed of reporting
5. Category of incidents and gender breakdown
6. Fatalities
7. Multiple casualty incidents
8. Casualties requiring emergency service assistance
9. Casualties requiring hospital treatment
10. Incidents requiring further investigation
11. Nature of injuries
12. Incidents involving members/non members
13. Cause of incident
14. Appendix
1/ Number of incidents and number of casualties involved
· There were 58 led walk incidents reported for this reporting period. However two were on Get Walking Keep Walking walks and thus recorded in the appendix.
2/ Age and gender breakdown
3/ Month incidents took place
4/ Speed of reporting
5/ Category of incidents and gender breakdown
6/ Fatalities
Unfortunately there were two fatalities. A man in his late 60’s suffered a heart attack and another gentleman in his 70’s was involved in a road traffic accident
7/ Multiple casualty incidents
One incident involved two casualties when a stile collapsed under them, both suffered cuts and bruises.
8/ Casualties requiring emergency service assistance
9/ Casualties requiring hospital treatment
10/ Incidents requiring further investigation
Due to the nature of the fatal road traffic accident an investigation was undertaken. During the same month two further incidents road traffic accidents were reported, highlight the potential danger of road walking. We urge Group and Walk Leaders to follow the guidance in Navigation and Leadership – A manual for Walkers whilst organising and leading walks.
11/ Nature of incidents
12/ Members/non members
13/ Cause of incident
6
[1] In 2006, Bob Barton, an independent walking expert was appointed to undertake a review of the Ramblers Led Walks programme. He found many strengths but also made a series of recommendations. The report can be found at http://www.ramblers.org.uk/Volunteer/AreaGroup/Resources/Led+Walks.htm