Q. I work in a dental practice and would like to put some toys in our reception area for children to play with. What do I need to consider?

A. You have a duty of care to ensure that your premises are safe for your employees and others using the facility. Should you decide to make toys available to children in your reception area, include this in your overall risk assessment of the building. You may wish to consider the following:

· Make sure that the toys you choose are appropriate for all ages of children. Follow the age markings on the toy’s packaging. Make sure there are no small pieces that could be a choking hazard to very young children or babies.

· Store the toys safely at the end of each day and make them easily accessible to the children during opening hours. Don’t put them high up on shelves where children may reach up and pull them down on top of themselves.

· Try to choose a corner or ideally, a separate small area for the toys, out of the way of the main flow of staff and patients. Ensure that the toys are regularly tidied during the day and that stray toys are cleared away from high-traffic areas. This will help to avoid problems with slip and trip accidents. Alternatively, consider purchasing a purpose built play table or wall-mountable play panel with integral toys that cannot be detached.

· Wash/disinfect and inspect the toys regularly to check for broken pieces or faults. Avoid soft toys that are less easy to disinfect than plastic or wooden toys. Inspect any toy batteries regularly and change them whenever necessary. If you find faulty or broken toys, remove them immediately and replace them.

New Guidance for operators of stretch limousines

The Department for Transport has published guidelines for operators of stretch limousines to make sure they comply with safety and licensing standards.

In June, the Department for Transport will introduce a new safety inspection regime. There will also be pre-registration checks to make sure all new vehicles with more than eight passenger seats comply with the guidelines.

• To read the DfT guidelines in full, please click on the following link: http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/taxis/limousines
• To read a BBC news report on the new guidance, please click on: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7213441.stm

Q. One of my employees has epilepsy and often works alone in the community. Should I stop her from working on her own?

A. People who have epilepsy are generally able to perform duties as a lone worker, but this is dependent on the work they do, the environment they perform in, and the abilities of the individual. An employer must look at the risks involved for an employee who has epilepsy by carrying out a comprehensive risk assessment and implementing appropriate safety measures.

In the UK, most jobs have no statutory restrictions placed on them for people who have epilepsy. The employment sections of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 make it illegal to discriminate against someone who has or has had epilepsy – whether controlled by medication or not. However, for the safety of the employee and of others, some jobs are governed by health regulations and may be restricted to those who have not suffered a seizure for a certain length of time.

During the risk assessment look carefully at the employee’s epilepsy, how it is controlled and if there is a pattern to any seizures that occur. This should be taken into account in the allocation of hours and duties.

Assess the duties that are performed. Some activities involve special risks for people whose seizures are not controlled. They would include working near open water, on or near moving vehicles, with chemicals or unguarded fires. Evaluate the risks in terms of the likelihood of a seizure or other hazardous event occurring, and the severity of harm that could result if other people are not around to help.

You may wish to contact Epilepsy Action (The British Epilepsy Association) for tailored advice on this issue. Website: www.epilepsy.org.uk, Telephone: 0808 800 5050 or email: helpline@epliepsy.org.uk.

Stay informed: Publications in the areas of accident and injury prevention

A list of all books, leaflets, journal articles, legislation and standards added to stock in the Information Centre during 2007 has been published on the Members' website. Please click on the following link to view the document: http://www.rospa.com/members/infocentre/news/additions/info/addition_infocentreCat2007.pdf

A monthly update is published by the Information Centre. Details will appear on this blog.

Q. I need to keep up-to-date with the latest academic research in the area of public health and safety. Do you know of any good web-based services?

A. There is an excellent weekly web-based alerting service called SafetyLit: Injury prevention literature update run by David Lawrence of San Diego University in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO).

Established for nine years, the SafetyLit update provides abstracts of English language articles from researchers in 35 disciplines in the area of unintentional injuries and violence. Summaries are drawn from anthropology, education, ergonomics, medicine, public health, public safety, traffic safety and many other fields. The service is available via email alert and on the web, and is free of charge. There are more than 18,000 subscribers in 176 countries. As well as the weekly alert there is a SafetyLit archive which has the complete backfiles of many key journals from the injury prevention and safety promotion field.

For anyone with more than a passing interest in all areas of injury prevention, the SafetyLit service is an invaluable resource. For further details on the service and how to subscribe, take a look at: : http://www.safetylit.org/.

The latest SafetyLit update is available from today, 28th January. Please click on the following link to view the Pdf: http://www.safetylit.org/week/2008/080128.pdf

RoSPA’s Information Centre can also help you to keep up with the latest developments in safety research. Tailored literature searches may be requested online via the RoSPA members’ website or by telephoning the Infocentre on 0121 248 2064. Literature searches, which include the full abstract and bibliographic details of relevant journal articles, are free to all enquirers. To receive articles in full-text you may incur a charge to cover photocopying and copyright fees, depending on whether or not you are a RoSPA member.

Q. We are buying an old office building that does not have a lift. Do we have to install one?

A. Whether lifts have to be provided falls under the scope of both the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the Building Regulations 2000. The Building Regulations state: ‘Reasonable provision shall be made for people to gain access to; and use the building and its facilities.’ The Disability Discrimination Act in Paragraph 21 (2) states: 'Where a physical feature (for example, one arising from the design or construction of a building or the approach or access to premises) makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled persons to make use of such a service, it is the duty of the provider of that service to take such steps as it is reasonable, in all the circumstances of the case, for him to have to take.'

The Approved Document to the Building Regulations 2000, Part M, Access to and use of buildings (2004 edition) states in paragraph 3.17 'A passenger lift is the most suitable means of vertical access and should be provided wherever possible. However, given the space constraints in some buildings, it may not always be possible to install the type and size of passenger lift that would be suitable for use by all.' Detailed guidance is given on design considerations. Please see the following link to the full-text of the Approved Document: http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_PDF_ADM_2004.pdf (see pages 37 of 85 to 41 of 85).

British Standard BS 8300:2001 Design of buildings and their approaches to meet the needs of disabled people - Code of practice (London: BSI, 2005) also provides guidance on the provision of lifts. Paragraph 8.4.1 states 'Multi-storey buildings should have at least one lift that is of sufficient size to be accessible by wheelchair users and people with mobility difficulties. Lifts should serve all floors. A conventional passenger lift should be the preferred option to provide comprehensive access for all users to levels in a building. However, in existing buildings where access to such a lift is not possible, a platform lift should be provided as an alternative option. In the notes to this paragraph, the standard goes on to say that 'If neither of the other types of lift can be installed a stairlift should be chosen as the final option for existing buildings. If no lift access can be provided in an existing building, it may be necessary to duplicate essential services and facilities on different floors.'

Most interestingly, there is a question on the Government's Planning Portal, which deals with exactly your situation. Please see the following link for helpful advice and interpretation: http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/england/professionals/en/4000000001242.html You will need to scroll down the page to the question on lifts.

Q&As: Smokefree communal areas in private dwellings?

Q. Do communal areas of private dwellings have to go smokefree on 1st July?

The following guidance is taken from the Government's guidance document 'Everything you need to prepare for the new smokefree law on 1st July 2007':

In general, the new law does not cover private dwellings. However, any enclosed or substantially enclosed part of a premises shared with other premises, such as a communal stairwell or lift in a block of flats, will be required to be smokefree if:

• it is open to the public
• it is used as a place of work, for example, by a cleaner, postman or security guard.

Please access the full-text of the guidance here: http://www.smokefreeengland.co.uk/files/everything_u_need_new_sf_law.pdf

For further information on everything related to going smokefree, including signage, penalties etc. please see the following website: http://www.smokefreeengland.co.uk/.

There is also a telephone helpline (Smokefree England Information Line) which can help you to interprete the requirements of the regulations: 0800 169 169 7.