Amongst the wide range of procedures undertaken during an average working day in the operating theatre environment, many either have the potential for causing harm or involve the use of hazardous substances. The necessity for safe practice is obvious but as perception of the problem among theatre workers increases, the real potential degree of this risk becomes apparent.

CROWN IMMUNITY

Crown immunity may have resulted in a lack of awareness and action as, prior to April 1991, hospitals within the NHS had a somewhat optional approach to liability until the implementation of Health and Safety law. Because of this, staff in the clinical areas generally remained unaware of this important and increasingly essential piece of protective legislation. However, their opposite numbers within the industrial sector implemented and developed the intention of the law, which was to create a safe place of work and safe working practices. It is possible, therefore, that some hospital staff were exposed to potential dangers from which workers in the industrial sector were legally protected.

THE HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK ACT

All present Health and Safety regulations, codes of practice and guidance arise from the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act (HASAWA). This Act represented a new concept in legislation intended to protect workers and others from risks at work as well as from dangers that might arise due to work situations. Prior to this act, for many years there had been a group of statutes covering certain industries and occupations, which were partly concerned with safety but were increasingly felt to be inadequate.

The 1972 Robens Report was commissioned to examine the effectiveness of existing legislation and make recommendations for change - hence the introduction of the HASAWA. This brought together the existing statutes while allowing for implementation of new ones, thus creating a uniformity of employee protection across the working population. As a result, approximately eight million more workers gained occupational protection under the law. The 1974 legislation is an “enabling” act, allowing for the relevant government minister, i.e. Minister/Secretary of State for Employment, to add new pieces of safety legislation as and when required, without going through the lengthy process of parliamentary statute law.