Post-traumatic stress highlighted in conference
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) held an
event recently entitled 'How employees cope with deaths they
witness at work'.
The event focused on how best to support staff suffering from
post-traumatic stress following the death of a colleague. It was
held at the IOSH East Midlands Branch, following the death of 12
employees in the region due to workplace accidents during
2009/10.
Richard Whitehead, IOSH Branch Chairman, said, "For every 12
people who lose their lives at work, there is always a high
possibility that their colleagues will have been affected by the
trauma.
"Occupational health does not have the same high profile as
safety, but we want to place it higher up the business agenda to
make sure PTS and mental health issues aren't the forgotten side
effects of a workplace tragedy," he added.
According to figures released by the Health and Safety
Executive, 152 employees were killed at work in 2009/10. As a
result of their deaths, many colleagues were signed off work with
post-traumatic stress, but in many cases, little was done to assist
them.
Mental Health Specialist Practitioner with Prohms Healthcare,
Janice Martland, said, "Companies that simply hope it will go away
set themselves up for a fall later on, as these things don't just
disappear."