What is Environmental Health?
“Environmental Health is that area of public health activity which strives to improve, protect and maintain health and well being through action on the physical environment and life circumstances”.
(Dr David Old, Old Report, 2006)
In Scotland, the core Environmental Health activities are:
- Occupational Health and Safety
- Food (Safety, Standards, Security)
- Environmental Public Health
- Built Environment
- Pollution Control
- Waste Management
The delivery of the Environmental Health Service in Scotland lies primarily with Scotland’s local authorities. The local authority Environmental Health workforce includes Environmental Health Officers (EHOs), Food Safety Officers (FSOs), Technical Officers and a range of other technical and scientific support staff.
Presenters of REHIS courses (including food hygiene, food and health, HACCP, infection control, occupational health and safety) are rightly considered to be part of the wider environmental health workforce and the preventative education they deliver contributes to reducing the disease burden in society. REHIS Registered Course Presenters work from Approved Training Centres to improve and protect health in Scotland through the delivery of community training courses leading to nationally recognised REHIS qualifications.
REHIS, EHOs and the wider environmental health workforce work in partnership with a wide range of organisations, including: Scottish Government, Public Health Scotland, Food Standards Scotland, Health and Safety Executive, Scottish Environment Protection Agency, International Federation of Environmental Health, Society of Chief Officers of Environmental Health in Scotland, University of the West of Scotland.
