Ramblers Incident Report 6

RamblersIncident Report 7

1st November 2011 – 31st March 2012

Introduction

Welcome to the seventhincident 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 a steady incline 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]. The ongoing 999 Grid Reference Campaign has also raised the profile of the importance of reporting incidents.

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 and updates to walk leaders and volunteers.

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

48 incidents were reported.
35% of casualties were male and 65% female.The youngest casualty was 22 years old, the oldest 87 years; the average age of a casualty is 60 years(ages were not provided for 5 casualties).
The average number of walkers on a walks is 20.
The highest percent, 23% of incidents took place in February, The lowest, 13% took place in November and March.
27% of incidents were reported between 8-13 days, 2% were reported on the same day.
35% of incidents were classed as minor, 59% medium, 4% were serious and 2% major. There were no near misses.
Unfortunately there were two fatalities reported which represent 4% of incidents.
There were no incidents involving multiple casualties.
42% of casualties required assistance from the emergency services.
90% of casualties required hospital treatment.
One incident required further investigation.
Broken bones were the most common injury representing 49%, the least common was animal bites at 2%.
96% of casualties were members, with 4% being non members.
The most common cause of incident is a trip, representing 76% of incidents, the least common at 2% animal related and road incidents.

Developments

A number of new resources are available online for Groups, Walk Leaders and volunteers. These include the latest edition of the Walk Leaders Checklist, a new First Aid for Walkers document, written in collaboration with the British Red Cross, ‘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;

Ramblers are running a variety of free training events throughout the UK during 2012. These training days are for new, or potential walk leaders, who we will hope after receiving the training, will go on to lead short walks for their local Groups and Areas. The training will involve soft leadership skills such being welcoming, choosing a suitable walk and some safety guidance. The afternoon session will cover very basic map and compass skills. There will also be the opportunity to attend a local walk, led by local Ramblers volunteers. To find out more about these events and to sign up please visit;

Unfortunately there was an incident on a road where tragically a member lost their life. It appears it was not driver error, that perhaps a low, strong sun temporary blinded the walker as they crossed the road. This is the second fatal road incident within six months, and other, non fatal accidents have also been reported. It raises the potential danger of crossing, or walking along roads and the Ramblers strongly advise Walk Leaders take extra care in coordinating road crossing and walking on or beside roads. For guidance please see Navigation and Leadership – A guide for Walkers, online at; /

Just over one year ago the first ever Walk Leader newsletter – the Leaders Column was sent out. It has been warmly received by over 1,600 Walk Leaders who had registered as Leaders. If you would like to be emailed the next edition please register at;

Karen Inkster

Led Walks Officer

May 2012

Contents

Breakdown of incidents:

Number of incidents and number of casualties involved
Age and gender breakdown
Average number of walkers
Month of year incidents took place
Speed of reporting
Category of incidents and gender breakdown
Fatalities
Multiple casualty incidents
Casualties requiring emergency service assistance
Casualties requiring hospital treatment
Incidents requiring further investigation
Nature of injuries
Incidents involving members/non members
Cause of incident

1/ Number of incidents and number of casualties involved

There were 48 led walk incidents reported for this recording period.

2/ Age and gender breakdown

3/ Average number of walkers

The average number of walkers is 20. The maximum number of walkers was 49, the minimum was 1, when a member was undertaking a recce,

4/ Month incidents took place

5/ Speed of reporting

6/ Category of incidents and gender breakdown

7/ Fatalities

Unfortunately there were two fatalities. A gentleman suffered a heart attack during a walk and another was fatality injured when crossing a road.

8/ Multiple casualty incidents

No multiple casualty incidents were reported.

9/ Casualties requiring emergency service assistance

10/ Casualties requiring hospital treatment

11/ Incidents requiring further investigation

There was one incident which required further investigation due to its nature, a member was fatality injured on a road. Please see above ‘development’ section for further guidance.

12/ Nature of incidents

13/ Members/non members

14/ Cause of incident

[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