My bike to work scheme rejected on grounds of health and safety



On 2007-09-05, Peter Clinch <[email protected]> wrote:
> Andrew wrote:
>
>> I work for a certain Scottish Healthboard, its not on my job description as
>> an area to focus on but as nobody else was going to and being a cyclist I
>> put together a detailed proposal for the healthbaord of 5500 employees to
>> support a bike to work scheme - the paper was heard at the august meeting
>> and rejected on grounds of health and safety concerns and financial
>> governance.
>> Now, I'm very busy in my proper job and did this as an aside but feel this
>> view is drivel. I was not at the meeting due to other commitments and as yet
>> have not been able to get the text of the discussion. Does anyone have to
>> hand any quotable facts that I can refer to challenge this decision ?
>> welcome any thoughts (time is a serious issue so afraid I cant afford to
>> write up any long detailed papers as the basic rule for any briefing paper
>> is no more than 2/3 pages)

>
> Aside from anything else already mentioned, I would point out to the
> bampots responsible for the above that NHS Tayside has recently
> introduced the very same scheme


As has NHS Greater Glasgow, to provide further moral weight.

Currently trying to justify a Birdy for myself...

cheers,

Finlay
 
Finlay Mackay wrote:

> As has NHS Greater Glasgow, to provide further moral weight.
>
> Currently trying to justify a Birdy for myself...


"Because you can". There, that was easy, now off to Kinetics to see Ben
about test... ;-)

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email protected] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/
 
Peter Clinch <[email protected]> wrote in news:5kcg00F30uidU2
@mid.individual.net:

> Finlay Mackay wrote:
>
>> [...]

>
> "Because you can". There, that was easy, now off to Kinetics to see Ben
> about test... ;-)
>
> Pete.


You might tell him that one of his Brompton customers (not me) has been
waiting now for 7 months for the SON hub and B&M Ovals that he ordered in
the shop. He is building himself a bad reputation but perhaps he doesn't
care.

--
Tony

" I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong."
Bertrand Russell
 
On Sep 7, 11:06 am, Tony Raven <[email protected]> wrote:
> Peter Clinch <[email protected]> wrote in news:5kcg00F30uidU2
> @mid.individual.net:
>
> > Finlay Mackay wrote:

>
> >> [...]

>
> > "Because you can". There, that was easy, now off to Kinetics to see Ben
> > about test... ;-)

>
> > Pete.

>
> You might tell him that one of his Brompton customers (not me) has been
> waiting now for 7 months for the SON hub and B&M Ovals that he ordered in
> the shop. He is building himself a bad reputation but perhaps he doesn't
> care.
>
> --
> Tony
>
> " I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong."
> Bertrand Russell


I have a similarly bad impression of his service, unfortunately.

Cheers,
Mike.
 
in message <[email protected]>, Andrew
('[email protected]') wrote:

> Hi all
> I work for a certain Scottish Healthboard, its not on my job description
> as an area to focus on but as nobody else was going to and being a
> cyclist I put together a detailed proposal for the healthbaord of 5500
> employees to support a bike to work scheme - the paper was heard at the
> august meeting and rejected on grounds of health and safety concerns and
> financial governance.
> Now, I'm very busy in my proper job and did this as an aside but feel
> this view is drivel. I was not at the meeting due to other commitments
> and as yet have not been able to get the text of the discussion. Does
> anyone have to hand any quotable facts that I can refer to challenge this
> decision ? welcome any thoughts (time is a serious issue so afraid I cant
> afford to write up any long detailed papers as the basic rule for any
> briefing paper is no more than 2/3 pages)


When I opened this group this evening the first post I read was one from
Simon Mason about a newspaper article praising a health board for
introducing a cycle-to-work policy, specifically citing reduction of
traffic congestion around the hospital as a benefit.

I Read This And Thought Of You, to coin a phrase:

http://www.swldxer.co.uk/zedit.jpg

Traffic congestion is a very serious problem around our flagship hospital,
to the extent that ambulances are impeded and lives are put at risk.
Everyone knows this. Parking at said hospital is - as everyone knows -
horrendously over subscribed. And health workers, many of whom do not
travel very far to work, provide a very bad example to others with regard
to healthy lifestyles.

A leak to local papers - which you couldn't possibly do, of course, but
there are others here who could - might have very salutary effect.

Meantime, in your briefing paper, do not fail to mention:

(1) Cycling is about 50% safer than walking (source: DfT)
(2) Cycling is substantially safer than not cycling, leading to +6 years
life expectancy (source: BMA - even your board may have heard of them)
(3) The new cyclists-only bridge close to the hospital, and good network of
off-road cycling farcilities in the town, providing most staff with
car-free of largely car-free routes to work (not that anyone with any
sense would use them, of course. But they are there).

That neatly disposes of the health and safety angle - indeed, they are
exposing themselves to risk of health and safety action for /discouraging/
cycling.

(4) The parking - your bike shed occupies less than the space required by
two consultants' Range Rovers, yet provides room for about twenty bikes;
(5) Health board staff's record of killing and injuring people while
driving between work locations - you know whereof I speak.
(6) Congestion, and its influence on the ability of ambulances to get to
the hospital.

Best of luck - come to me for any help you need. And are we Journeying to
the Roof of the World this year?

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

I'm fed up with Life 1.0. I never liked it much and now it's getting
me down. I think I'll upgrade to MSLife 97 -- you know, the one that
comes in a flash new box and within weeks you're crawling with bugs.
 

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