Indoor Meetings of the Society
These responsibilities and Guidelines are a response to the Government announcement that there is no limit to the number of people who can meet either indoors or outdoors, no requirement to socially distance, and no mandatory requirement to wear face masks but they are advised for crowded spaces. Clearly these responsibilities and guidelines must be kept up to date and revised in response to emerging Government guidance.
The responsibility for keeping society members safe falls on the committee as soon as it invites members to attend face-to-face gatherings indoors and outdoors. Individual members also have a responsibility to act in the interest of others when attending such gatherings.
Society Committee Responsibilities
The Committee shall :
- Prepare and maintain a safety plan that can be examined by others.
- Record the names of all attendees at society meetings and details of any visitors, allocate this responsibility to a committee member and forward the record to the Society Secretary for safe keeping.
- Ensure that members intending to join the gathering are advised about and encouraged to have a rapid lateral flow test so they are not unknowingly infected with Covid. The committee to provide members with information about the availability of rapid lateral flow tests.
- Inform members who test positive for Covid-19 to stay at home and inform the Club President or Secretary immediately who will inform members of this incident without revealing those members’ identities. Tell members who are ill or have any Covid-like symptoms to stay at home whether they have been tested for Covid or not.
- Ensure that doors and windows at Cameron House or other indoor venues are opened to provide adequate ventilation. This responsibility to be allocated to a committee member.
- Provide hand-sanitisers and instruct all meeting attendees to use them or bring their own sanitiser.
- Ensure that all surfaces, doors, seat’s, tables, kitchen worktops, toilets etc. have been properly cleaned at the start and end of meetings. This responsibility to be allocated to a committee member. This is critically important in Cameron House and other potential indoor venues which are used by other groups during the day.
- Publish these responsibilities and Guidelines on Society’s website.
Society Member Responsibilities
- All members, guests and visitors will be asked to,
- Take a rapid lateral flow test 48 hours before coming to a society meeting.
Immediately on entry to Cameron House and other potential indoor venues and before sitting down, sanitise their hands and ensure that their your name/details are recorded by the Committee member who is doing this. - Consider wearing a face covering. This is not mandatory, but is recommended except for those people who are exempt.
- Wear a mask if the speaker or judge insists on face coverings. The competition and programme secretaries will inform the membership of this requirement well in advance of the meeting. This will not apply to those members who are exempt.
- Stay at home if they feel ill or have coughing, cold, flu-like or especially Covid-like symptoms and take a rapid lateral flow test before returning to the club.
- Stay at home if they test positive for Covid and inform the Club President or Secretary immediately.
- If contacted by TT&T or by the NHS Covid-19 App and asked for further Club contact details, pass on the name and phone number of the Club President or Secretary
Lancaster Photographic Society, in common with similar clubs, does not come under the scope of Health and Safety legislation, and is thus not required to have a policy and procedures in place. However - and regardless of whether the administrators of its meeting premises may require its hirers to have such a policy - it has agreed this policy in the interests of good practice and to minimise any risks identified. This is available for the scrutiny of its members.
This Club's policy entails the following:
Members and guests will be requested to sign an attendance sheet on entry to the premises, so that a roll-call can be undertaken in the event of an evacuation. Attendees will be made aware of the emergency exits and of the assembly point in the event of an evacuation viz. the Car Park, especially when new guests are present.
Club officials shall be made aware of the location of fire extinguishers and fire-blanket, and shall be conversant with the operation of such equipment. Training will be given at the first meeting of a new season or as otherwise decided by the officials.
Society Officials must be aware of the location of any first-aid equipment within the premises, and also be aware of the full address and post-code when telephoning the emergency services. Currently this is
St Thomas Church Hall
Marton Street
Lancaster.
It is advisable that anyone possessing up-to-date first-aid skills be identified.
Members should be made aware of any specific restrictions or requirements placed on the Society and its members by the administrators of the premises where the Society meets. None available currently
There is no legal requirement that the Society's electrical equipment be subject to Portable Appliance Testing (PAT). Should the building's administration insist on this (not currently the case), it will only apply to earthed electrical equipment. It is not possible to carry out a meaningful test on non-earthed (double-insulated) equipment. All relevant details can be found on the HSE website http://www.hse.gov.uk/electricity/faq-portable-appliance-testing.htm which exposes a number of myths around PAT.
Where visiting speakers wish to use their own equipment, the Society officials will use their discretion as to whether to consult the building's administrators that they allow such equipment to be brought in and used provided that it is supplied via a Residual Current Device (RCD). (For details see http://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/guides-and-advice/electrical-items/rcds-explained. The Club has provided a RCD for its own equipment, and this would also negate the need for PAT. The RCD should be tested at the start of the meeting using the test button, and the electrical equipment of both Club and visiting speaker should be visually checked at the same time.
All trailing cables and other tripping hazards will be fixed to the floor using appropriate rubber covers before most people arrive. This also protects equipment from being dragged from tables and damaged.
The Society is covered for Public Liability Insurance, since relying on the premises owner's cover may only be limited to injury or damage caused by the building itself (eg a falling roof tile). Society officials should periodically do a visual check inside & outside the premises for potential safety issues, paying particular attention to the handling of boiling water for providing refreshments.
As a common courtesy, the Society should ensure wheelchair users have full access to the meeting rooms. The Society should also consider with the premises owner the provision of induction loops for the hard-of-hearing, and provide a lapel microphone to speakers to facilitate this.