FIRST, protect the people! Whit wi the raicent Brexit upheavals it luiks gin the wuin is set fair fir anither Scottish independence referendum afore ower lang. Ah’ll hale-heartedly support this, but meantime aye-an-oan we hae a kintra tae rin an it’s a kintra whaur thair is nae protection o the people due tae lack o health an safety regulation in public bodies. This needs sortit nou!

Whit dae the Glesga bin lorry disaster, last year’s Police Scotland control room failure tae respond tae the M9 accident, the heich nummers o suicides in Scottish mental health units, an the “40 suspicious daiths” at Ayrshire an Arran NHS Board aa hae in common?

They are aa wark relatit an cuivert bi the Health an Safety at Work etc Act 1974, an the Human Rights Act 1998 an the “right to life”. There is evidence that maist o these daiths cuid an shuid hae bin preventit gin the law hud bin complied wi in Scotland. There are a wheen o ithers that can be addit tae this leet. The law is muckle misunnerstuid – e’en bi thaim whaes joab it is tae comply wi it, tae enforce it, an prosecute it.

The law requires effective precautions tae be taen bi organisations warkin haund-in-haund wi warkers tae prevent hairm, no wait till it happens then mibbes investigate, an aiblins prosecute! Human richts legislation is gey aften mocked, but whit is missed is that its first requirement is fir public bodies tae prevent avoidable daiths. These accoont fir ower 2,000 daiths a year in Scotland, an this is criminal law! It’s nae somethin that’s juist “nice tae hae”, an option – it is binding an compulsory oan the government an its organisations sic as government itsel, the NHS an the polis.

The incidents are aften no e’en seen as bein cuivert bi this law. Maist incidents in healthcare are completely missed. Yet this is the law that must gie a raisonable an systematic wey o keepin us aa safe. When incidents heppen they are required tae be investigated collectively bi the polis, the Croun Oaffice an Procurator Fiscal Service an the Health an Safety Executive (HSE).

This is aa unner the Scottish “wark relatit daiths protocol”, whilk is rerrly follaed fir public safety incidents; it wisnae follaed in the Glesga bin lorry incident.

The Lord Advocate an the Croun Oaffice said that there wid be nae prosecution o Glesga Ceetie Cooncil athoot HSE e’en haein investigatit! HSE said at the Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) that they anely foun oot three months eftir this deceesion wis made. The Lord Advocate completely missed the driver’s responsibilities fir health an safety o himself, warkmates, an ithers affectit bi his acts an omissions. The leet o legal errors bi the Croun Oaffice is verra lang indeed; itsel a case study in hou no tae dael wi public safety!

Then there are the mony avoidable daiths at Ayrshire and Arran NHS Board. Firstly the board cuivert thaim up; it needit the Scottish Information Commissioner tae force the incident reports oot o thaim. When they were finally made available they kythed mony incidents an daiths that cuid an shuid hae bin preventit gin the UK-wide law hud bin implementit bi the Scottish meenisters an the government, NHS Scotland an health boards.

There is an endless stream o incidents an preventable daiths that are subject tae the law, but the law here is disregairded. It shuid hae bin applied tae mak siccar that Police Scotland call-handling wis warkin effectively in relation tae the daith o Lamara Bell. As the polis are dealin wi life an daith situations they shuid operate tae verra heich staundarts an be designed tae “fail tae safety” sae serious calls dinnae go athoot the richt response.

Then we hae the daith o Sheku Bayoh whilst in polis custody in Kirkcaldy. In baith cases it taen months afore HSE wis caa’d in. Why wis that? HSE’s legal role is tae effectively regulate compliance wi health an safety law; that is, tae act afore incidents heppen. When HSE becomes awaur o sic wark-relatit daiths it shuid be involved immediately – no wait tae be caa’d in! The current system o investigatin public safety daiths juist isnae warkin.

The muckle nummer o avoidable daiths in health care gang athoot ony conseideration ava o the law that shuid hae preventit thaim in the first place, or ony independent investigation whitsoevir. Again, why is this? Thegaither wi the bin lorry, they kythe the main errors that a justice system can mak. Let’s see gin wir new Lord Advocate can see the problems an sort thaim! We’ll be writin tae him.

Juist nou the nummer o murders stauns aboot 50 a year in Scotland. The nummer o avoidable daiths that cuid an shuid be preventit bi applyin health an safety legislation is 40 times heicher! Understaunably the emphasis hus bin oan the former, but the public safety daiths hae bin woefully disregairded bi thaim wha hae responsibility fir settin Scotland’s policy oan the law an preventin sic daiths, an thaim wha hae the day tae day responsibility fir complyin wi the law, an wha shuid be makkin shair that the law is complied wi.

Health an safety offences are athort the UK conseidert verra seriously bi the courts. Mair an mair the ootcome is custodial sentences. Time fir the Scottish ministers, Police Scotland an the HSE tae get their act thegaither an protect the people!