The accident book

The Accident book (under The building) is where accidents, near misses, people taken ill, damage and break-ins at the hall are written down, on the day they happen. Insurers expect a hall to keep one, and a claim for an injury can come years later, when nobody remembers what happened. On every plan.

Record an incident. Choose what kind it was and when and where it happened, and the hire it happened during if there was one. Say what happened, who was hurt or involved, the injury, the first aid given and whether they went from the hall straight to hospital, and who saw it. Write down what was done afterwards to stop it happening again, and who it was reported to (your insurer, the police) with any reference. Stick to the facts: do not say whose fault it was.

Who else may need telling. When you save, ModuleFest HallPro lists who else may need telling. If someone went straight to hospital, a UK hall may need to report it to the Health and Safety Executive under RIDDOR; other countries have their own rules. Injuries, damage and break-ins should be reported to your insurer even if nobody makes a claim.

The committee is emailed that there is a new record, with what happened and where but no names or injuries, which stay in ModuleFest HallPro. Keep a record Open while anything still needs doing, and close it when it is done. Print a record, or save it as a PDF, when the insurer asks for it.

Keeping the records. Keep records for at least three years. If data protection tidying is switched on (on Data protection, under Settings), the names are taken out of closed records once they are older than the years set there, and never sooner than three years. Tick Keep the names for good when a claim is possible or a child was hurt, as a child can claim until three years after they turn 18. The annual report counts the records made in the year.

For example: At a Saturday birthday party a seven-year-old trips on the stage steps and cuts her knee. The hirer puts a plaster on from the hall’s first aid box and tells the key holder, who records it that evening on his phone: when, where, the girl’s and her mother’s names, the cut, the plaster, the hirer as witness. The committee gets an email that there is a new record. At the next meeting they order anti-slip edging for the steps and add that to the record, then close it once it is fitted.

Questions people ask

Should we record a near miss?
Yes. A slip that did not end in a fall is the best warning you will get. Recording them shows the insurer you take safety seriously, and shows the committee where the next accident is likely.

Who fills it in: the hirer or the committee?
The committee, from what the hirer tells you. Ask hirers in your hire agreement to tell you about any accident the same day, and to use the hall’s first aid box and accident book.

Who can see the records?
Committee members who can see The building. Names and injuries are personal data: they are not emailed, and they are taken out of old records automatically if data protection tidying is on.

Can we delete a record?
Yes, from the record itself, for one made by mistake. Otherwise keep it: insurers and the law usually expect the records to be kept. Every change and deletion is in the audit log.