Safety Advice & Procedures Each Club, Society or Project has a responsibility to ensure the safety of their members while they are participating in activities. Undertake sensible activities and make sensible decisions. Clubs & Societies generally have an excellent safety record. Incidents and accidents do however occur - there are a number of procedures in place to manage these incidents and ensure the correct reporting is carried out.
Activity Registrations Registration of activities is mandatory for all Clubs, Societies & Projects. The information provided will help the Union and the College in the case of an emergency involving members of a Club, Society or Project. The registration must be done online using Workbench (See the Workbench chapter in the Club & Society Officers Handbook). It will literally take two or three minutes. The information required falls into two parts, namely: • Part A: Details of where, when & what the activity is, who is in charge, as well as departure and arrival places and times. • Part B: Details of who is participating, their names & CID numbers. Depending on the activity being undertaken, the following pieces of information need to be provided:
Increased Risk Activities
Other Activities
On Campus
None
None
Off Campus but within M25
Part A & Part B
Part A
Beyond M25
Part A & Part B
Part A & Part B
Residential Activities Part A & Part B
Part A & Part B
The list of Increased Risk Activities is:
• Airsoft • Basketball • Caving • Canoeing • Clay Pigeon & Rifle Shooting • Climbing • Cross Country • Cycling • Football • Free running • Gliding • Hill walking • Hockey • Ice Hockey • In-line Hockey • Kickboxing • Kite Surfing • Lacrosse • Martial Arts (all types)
Version 1.0 - 01 June 2010
• Motorsport • Mountaineering • Orienteering • Parkour • Paintballing • Parachuting • Polo • Riding • Rugby • Rowing • Sailing • Skiing • Snowboarding • Squash • Surfing • Wakeboarding • Water polo • Waterskiing • Windsurfing • Yachting
NB: The level of information required is relative to the activity being undertaken rather than the group undertaking it. EG: Yoga Club, who usually do their activities in a room on Campus, generally would not be required to register their yoga sessions. However, if the Yoga club decide to go on a sailing trip then they would need to register that activity. Conversely, the Sailing Club must register each of their trips sailing, but if they decide to have an evening of Yoga on campus then they would not need to register that activity. The only exception to this registration scheme is for regular sports training, such as the Hockey Club training at Harlington on a Monday evening, or the Boat Club training on the River Thames each morning.
Accident Reporting If an accident or dangerous occurrence (i.e. an event that could have resulted in an accident) happens, you must fill out an Accident Report Form1. Paper copies are available from the Student Activities Centre. You should ensure you take some paper copies away with you on trips or to sports matches. Accident Report forms must be returned to the Student Activities Centre within 48 hours of an incident occurring. Minor injuries and dangerous occurrences, as well as major incidences must be reported. Imperial College is required by Law to submit details of accidents and provide accident statistics. This is not a piece of bureaucracy that is applied only to Clubs, Societies or Projects - every College department and employee is required to report accidents and dangerous occurances in the same way. The objective of accident reporting is to stop identical accidents reoccurring in the future if possible. You will not get into trouble for reporting accidents, nor will your activities be stopped, save under severe circumstances. Accident reports will be reviewed and advice to review risk assessments may be provided by the Union Health & Safety Committee2.
Unplanned Incidents & Emergencies Normally activities pass without incident. Very occasionally though, something unplanned happens. The level of response from your Club, Society or Project very much depends on your activities - for example the wind getting stronger very quickly could mean serious issues when mountaineering or SCUBA diving, but might provide an excellent day's activity when sailing or windsurfing. You have responsibility for thinking and responding sensibly and safely when planning for and responding to unplanned incidents. 1: imperialcollegeunion.org/data/files/Union-accident-form-34.pdf 2: imperialcollegeunion.org/committee/index,51,COM.html
Unplanned Incidents & Emergencies Each Club, Society or Project needs to be aware of what to do when unplanned things happen and establish a clear procedure for dealing with them. This should be outlined in the Club, Society & Project Code of Conduct1. It is important that everyone involved in organising a trip is aware of what is written in the Club or Society Code of Conduct so that they know what to do. The three different levels of incidents and response needed is detailed below: 1) Simple Unexpected Incident Simple things that do not adversely affect the overall operation of the event, trip or activity. Such things may include a coach or bus turning up late, forgeting to pack some of the necessary equipment, a disagreement over how to cook dinner. What to do: • Do what is necessary at the time to resolve this incident. • Learn from the experience and enjoy the rest of the activity. • Try to ensure something like this does not happen again in the future. 2) General Unplanned Incident Situations that are unplanned for and are likely to have an impact on the overall activity, for everyone involved. For example a vehicle breaking down, a participant needing to be taken to A&E for a simple injury, forgetting the keys to the accommodation. What to do: • Deal with the incident on the ground at the time. • Be aware if any of the circumstances have turned (or are likely to turn) the incident into a critical incident (eg. press interest). • If so, then follow the Critical Incident Procedure below. • Call the Student Activities Centre, if necessary, to report the details of the incident. • Complete an Accident Report Form on return from the activity if necessary. • If any type of assistance is required or if in any doubt as to what to do then follow the Critical Incident Procedure below. 3) Critical Incident Serious incidents which are likely to require professional staff at the Union and College to resolve. This would include: • A death or multiple or serious injuries. • Members missing, overdue or in other immediate danger. • Serious illness or hospital admission.
• Arrest or detention by Police. • Members being a victim of a criminal incident. • Serious Road Traffic Accident • Any situation where the emergency services are involved. • Any situation which is likely to bring the College into disrepute. • Any situation where the media are attending or may attend or have an interest in. As experts in the activity the Club, Society or Project has undertaken, members present need to deal with the incident in the very first instance. This is why it is vital that organisers know the contents of the Code of Conduct as this should outline what to do. What to do: • Call 999 for the emergency services if necessary. • As soon as possible (when the situation is under control), call Imperial College Security on 020 7589 1000 to report the incident. • Calling the phone number and providing information about the incident will also allow a briefing to be given to the College Press Office - this is a very important consideration as there is generally a large amount of media interest in incidents involving students. The staff who answer the phone and deal with the incident have extensive experience in this area. Most things have been seen before so do not be afraid of calling. The number is manned 24 hours, every day of the year. Additionally a senior member of Union staff is always on duty to deal with Critical Incidents. Wallet-sized business cards detailing what to do in the event of a Critical Incident are available from the Student Activities Centre. Every person leading a Club or Society activity should have a copy of this.
Things to Remember 1. Do not talk to the Press and certainly do not attempt to sell stories to the Press. 2. N o Club & Society member should admit liability for an incident. 3. U nder no circumstances should any member of a Club, Society or Project contact the Next of Kin of a fellow member. If Next of Kin need to be contacted call the Critical Incident phone number: 020 7589 1000. 4. E nsure you have a well-thought out Risk Assessment and Code of Conduct. 5. Ensure people organising the event/trip know what is on these. 6. Fill in an Accident Report Form if you have had an accident or a dangerous occurrence. 7. Keep calm.