The Isle of Wight Health and Safety Group presented a cheque for £4,533 to Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance (HIOWAA) yesterday (Monday).
The local safety group, which recently disbanded having protected workers’ rights for 44 years, decided that all remaining funds should be donated to HIOWAA.
The Isle of Wight Health and Safety Group was established in 1974; the year of the 3-day week. Fatal injuries at work in the UK were numbering about 650 per annum. Since then, great strides have been made to protect workers and the latest statistics available for 2016/17 show that only 137 died because of an accident at work.
By providing an important source of support and information to local businesses and organisations on the Isle of Wight, the local safety group was a significant contributor the reduction in fatalities as a result of accidents in the work place.
Over its 44-year history, the group’s greatest achievement was being chosen as the “Best of the Best”, as recently as 2015, in the Alan Butler Awards of Safety Groups UK. In total the Group achieved Gold Awards in: 2011-12; 2012-13; 2013-14 and 2014-15.
Roger Kervern commented:
‘The majority of our members felt that it made sense to donate our remaining funds to HIOWAA because the Charity’s Critical Care Teams respond to serious accidents at work and their intervention can make the difference between life and death”.
Rachel Leaman, HIOWAA Director of Fundraising, received the cheque from the group and said:
“It currently costs in excess of £9,000 a day to maintain our life saving service. We are incredibly grateful to the Isle of Wight Health and Safety Group for their donation and for choosing to support HIOWAA. It is only thanks to the generosity of the communities we serve that we are able to keep the Air Ambulance flying and saving lives.”
