Recent concerns have been highlighted with regards to the amount of asbestos remaining in run down schools and hospitals in England, after new analysis has shown that nearly 150 education and health workers’ deaths were cancer related.
Official data from The Office for National Statistics has revealed since 2017 there have been 147 deaths between education and health workers. Due to the way people’s professions are recorded on birth certificates, experts believe that these figures are likely to be underestimated. 94 education professionals and 53 health care professionals have died.
There have been growing complaints from headteachers and NHS staff over the condition of schools and hospital buildings as both sectors have had major budget cuts since 2010, according to The Guardian. The ONS supplied the figures after they were requested by the Liberal Democrat MP, Munira Wilson, who has been inspecting the state of school buildings. Out of 94 education professionals who died, there were 21 in secondary school, 21 in further or higher education and 39 who worked in primary and nursery schools. The 13 that remained were involved in senior education, special educational needs staff and Ofsted inspectors.
For the 53 healthcare professionals who died, there were 36 nurses or midwives, 2 therapists and 15 others falling into the ‘medical professionals’ category including occupations such as psychologists, doctors and radiographers. In 2022, internal government documents showed that some school buildings were a ‘risk to life’ according to the reports from the Observer. This adds extra pressure on the government which was already being pressed by the Labour party and other parties to provide unrevealed data in relation to the condition of school buildings.
The joint general secretary of the National Education Union, Kevin Courtney suggested that a big program of investment should be allocated for school buildings. He stated, “Capital spending on school buildings has collapsed since 2010, with a decline by 50% in real terms. This simply stokes up problems for the future and fails to address the widespread asbestos in schools, which should have been dealt with years ago. It is a catalogue of neglect which must be addressed urgently with a new focus on retrofitting education buildings to make them safe and sustainable.”
UKExpertMedical are specialists in Industrial Disease and have a dedicated team working solely on claims for Asbestos Related Disease. We understand the demands of this type of claim which is why we work with efficiency to ensure you get the Medico-Legal Reports you need to bring your case to a prompt conclusion. If you have an Asbestos Related Disease case, or any other case in relation to Industrial Disease, our experts are here to help. See our information on Industrial Disease Reports and get in touch.
