I remember a time when you could do things without having to worry about the ‘dreaded’ Health  and Safety issues and whilst I am sure that there are always situations and problems that need to be covered and we need to be concerned about it does all seem to have gone to far doesn’t it? Or perhaps it’s just me getting old but for instance during this recent cold spell people were advised not to clear the snow away from the front of their properties in case some one fell over on the cleared area and then sued them. Schools closed because there was snow in the play ground and children might harm themselves by having snow ball fights. A lot of them closed because teachers couldn’t get to school because of the road conditions, I understand their problems but why not amalgamate the classes, use some of the elder children to help the staff that did get there but no Health and Safety dictates that you cannot do that. It’s barmy too much protection to much nanny state and to much advertising for companies to sue any one for you if you have an accident.  An accident is  just that and accident and they happen so why  must you blame some one and try to make money out of them, if some one sets out to deliberately hurt you or rob you then yes lets chase them through the courts and sue them for everything we can but an accident I ask you! Imagine some one in a wheelchair being stuck by the side of the road unable to get up the kerb for some reason, would you help them of course you would or would you think oh no I mustn’t do that because of Health and Safety?  Say you call round to see a neighbour and his electric riser recliner chair has blown a fuse will you help  and change it or think no I can’t do that it’s Health and Safety. The world is so strange we get the pendulum swinging and it goes from side to side either it is to the side where there is no protection or it goes completely the other way so that you feel as though you can’t sneeze in public for fear of  affecting someone’s Health and Safety.  When I was a young schoolboy, a long time ago, I went to a football  match in Birmingham, taken by a neighbour, can you imagine that happening nowadays he would need Police checks and all sorts, it was an evening match and it was snowing heavily and because of that we were late and when we got in to the ground we were right at the back and I couldn’t see anything. So Jack, the neighbour, who had taken me told me to wait down at the front for him when the game had finished and he would  met me, but I said I can’t get to the front on my own. He told me not to worry and he and the guy stood next to him lifted me up and to cries of “Lad coming down” I was passed over the top of the crowd right down to the front and put down gently and finished up with a great view, probably a bit dangerous but no one thought so at the time  and I had  a great time, can you imagine Health and Safety reacting nowadays to some thing like that. Then again nowadays any one trying that would probably be thrown down not passed down. Just for the record our team won 5-0 and it was played in a snow storm and the crowd left safely afterwards.  I know memory is a funny thing but certainly we were not subjected to the nanny state health and safety back then oh for some common sense please It’s a funny old world isn’t it

Tags: Child, Consultants, Electric adjustable beds, electric beds, electric recliner chair, Electric riser recliner chairs, Frost, Health, Health and Safety Executive, Occupational safety and health, Snow, Weather, Wheelchair, Wheelchairs

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 16th, 2010 at 5:25 am and is filed under MOBILITY PRODUCTS, Wheelchairs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.