Suicide at OSH blamed on stress

By MATHEW DEARNALEY

The Government agency charged with regulating workplace safety has been implicated in the stress-related suicide of one of its own senior inspectors.

A coroner said that while there was considerable personal concern about Ronald Noel Ward, the Occupational Safety and Health Service failed to recognise fully and deal adequately with a "terribly stressful situation" facing the inspector during restructuring.

Northland coroner Peter Mahood found after an extended inquest that Mr Ward, 50, OSH's former national agricultural co-ordinator, died after shooting himself at his home in Whangarei on November 8, 2001.

Mr Ward, married with an adult son, had been through several restructuring rounds and felt he had been demoted after his position was disestablished.

A family spokesman told the Herald Mr Ward had been on sick leave while recovering from cancer.

The family agreed to facts about the case being published as a lesson to employers generally.

Employers are facing greater scrutiny from OSH now that stress has been identified in new legislation as being among workplace hazards for which they can be fined up to $500,000.

But employer representatives refrained yesterday from accusing the service of any failure of leadership.

Business New Zealand executive director Anne Knowles said Mr Ward's death reinforced how difficult stress was for employers to deal with and how important it was to establish good communications with staff without prying unduly into their private lives.

Council of Trade Unions secretary Carol Beaumont called the case a tragedy that highlighted the importance of training health and safety representatives to be alert for signs of stress among their colleagues - a requirement of the new legislation.

Mr Ward's union, the Public Service Association, is keen to work with OSH to tighten gaps in procedures but secretary Richard Wagstaff said employees throughout the state sector were under enormous stress and struggling to meet the demands put on them.

John Chetwin, chief of the Labour Department of which OSH is part, said management thought it had done everything it could to support "a highly valued staff member" at a difficult time and was developing more targeted assistance when he died.

"We are deeply sorry that this was not enough," he said.

A staff rehabilitation plan had been completed since Mr Ward's death and the department was "determined that lessons from the case will be learned and applied".

Mr Mahood pointed to considerable personal concern about Mr Ward's circumstances among his managers, and a desire to retain his services in a constructive way.

Despite this, there was a failure to realise just how severely these circumstances were affecting him.

The coroner noted an acknowledgement by OSH regional manager Richard Willis of more than one report to him that Mr Ward was crying at his desk, the importance of which seemed to have been recognised only at a very late stage.

Despite a report from Mr Willis on November 6, no effective action was taken.

"Possibly that outcome would have been different had there been established channels of communication so that the receivers of the message were aware that this was a circumstance requiring urgent action," Mr Mahood said.

The coroner also expressed concern at an apparent failure by OSH to complete a comprehensive review of its procedures in light of the tragedy, and to debrief staff.

But he was heartened that the experience had been translated into a brochure for general dissemination, in the hope it would help other businesses.

An OSH spokeswoman assumed he was referring to a set of guidelines on reducing workplace stress and fatigue, the subject of seminars the agency has been holding with employers this week.

Northern Employers and Manufacturers' Association occupational health manager Paul Jarvie said OSH should look very carefully at its own procedures, but he stopped short of calling for it to prosecute itself.

He noted that Mr Ward's death occurred before the legislation was tightened and that he had been afflicted by a physical illness.

But he said the case highlighted a need for employers to offer proper support when restructuring, and to be clear about their plans so fears were not exaggerated by rumours.