Author: Peacock Carter

In line with advice from the Scottish Government the Institute has implemented a contingency plan to ensure that it’s staff are protected, as best it can, from Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The REHIS office is now closed until further notice and we will continue to deliver the usual high level of service and support but with staff members working from home.

Requests for advice should be sent by email to your usual contacts. The contact@ and training@ mailboxes will also be monitored.

Updates will be announced on the Institute’s website, the e-Newsletter, in e-alerts and on Twitter.

Follow advice from the Scottish Government and stay safe!

The implementation date for Scotland’s deposit return scheme has been delayed by more than a year.

The “go-live” date is to be pushed back from April next year to July 2022.

Under the scheme, people will be able to return a container to shops in return for a 20p fee which was paid when the drink was purchased.

The government said the delay would give businesses time to ensure the necessary infrastructure was in place.

Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said: “Our deposit return scheme will be the first national scheme of its type operating in the UK.

“By including a wide range of materials, including glass, and setting a deposit of 20p, we are giving the people of Scotland a clear and straightforward way to do their bit for the environment.

“Having listened to the views of stakeholders, I have agreed to extend the ‘go-live’ date from April 2021 to July 2022.”

She continued: “This will give businesses more time to prepare their premises for the scheme and crucially, provides flexibility in the immediate term as the whole country prepares to deal with Covid-19 – the impact of which continues to be closely monitored.

“One very important way of achieving our climate targets is in tackling throw-away culture and building a circular economy where our resources are kept in use for as long as possible, and our deposit return scheme is just one part of this.”

The call comes as a BBC investigation has discovered a large number of sellers on Facebook Marketplace were not registered as a food business with their local authority.

According to the BBC, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) Chair, Heather Hancock, has called for Facebook to bring in stricter seller checks on its Marketplace platform.

Facebook requires people selling food from their homes on a regular basis to register with their local authority, but BBC News reportedly found a number of food sellers were unregistered.

The BBC conducted a series of test purchases, buying goat curry, cake, roast chicken and chocolate party cones for children from sellers advertising on Facebook, and reportedly found that none of the sellers indicated they were registered, had been inspected or had a food hygiene rating.

Heather Hancock said that Facebook has “an unavoidable moral obligation to help keep people safe.”

“Everyone involved in online marketplace selling – from the host platforms to the home cook – must meet their responsibilities to ensure food is safe and what it says it is. Anyone selling food online in an organised and regular basis must be registered as a food business with their local authority,” added Michael Jackson, Head of Regulatory Compliance at the Food Standards Agency.

“Our advice to people when ordering food online is to check that the business has a food hygiene rating and choose only those with a rating of three or above. If they need to know about allergens, they should make sure they have all the information they need on this before ordering. If they have any doubts about a food seller, they should report them to the local authority and order elsewhere.”

The FSA is already working with the main online food order and delivery platforms such as Just Eat, UberEats and Deliveroo who are reportedly beginning to put the safety of the consumer first. Just Eat is displaying a business’s food hygiene rating on the platform and new businesses must have a pass rating in Scotland or a rating of three or above in England before being listed. UberEats are also displaying food hygiene ratings on their app.

In line with advice from the Scottish Government the Institute has implemented a contingency plan to ensure that it’s staff are protected, as best it can, from Coronavirus (COVID-19). We will aim to deliver the usual high level of service and support but with staff members working mostly from home we would ask that requests for advice be sent by email to your usual contacts. The contact@ mailbox will also be monitored. A minimal staff presence will be maintained at the office for as long as possible.

Updates will be announced on the Institute’s website, in the e-Newsletter and on Twitter.

Follow advice from the Scottish Government and stay safe!

According to a new report published by the European Environment Agency (EEA), road traffic is the top source of noise pollution in Europe, with rail, aircraft and industry the other main sources of environmental noise pollution. 

The report provides an update of noise pollution trends over the 2012-2017 period. Additionally, the report estimates future noise projections as well as the associated health impacts in Europe, based on new World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on the health effects from exposure to noise. Building on the previous EEA assessment of noise in Europe from 2014, the report also looks at actions  taken to manage and reduce noise exposure and reviews progress made to meet EU objectives on noise pollution.

Long-term exposure to noise has significant health impacts. On the basis of the new WHO information, the EEA estimates that such exposure causes 12,000 premature deaths and contributes to 48,000 new cases of ischemic heart disease per year across Europe. It is also estimated that 22 million people suffer chronic high annoyance and 6.5 million people suffer chronic high sleep disturbance.

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of coronavirus disease COVID-19 a pandemic, reflecting the worldwide spread of this infection. The WHO produces daily situation reports, listing all affected countries and the number of confirmed cases.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has described the pandemic as “the worst public health crisis for a generation”. It now affects countries in all regions of the world. 

While the WHO has reported that most people who have COVID-19 will experience a mild illness, elderly people and those with existing health problems are at greatest risk of severe illness.

The Scottish Government approach is guided by the Chief Medical Officer, and continue to monitor the situation closely and to work with the WHO and international community.

They are working with the Welsh Government, Northern Ireland Executive, and the UK Government to respond to the ongoing outbreak.

Coronavirus symptoms and health advice

Common symptoms of coronavirus include:

·       high temperature or fever

·       cough

·       shortness of breath 

Public health advice can be found at: Coronavirus (COVID-19) on NHS Inform.

A free helpline has been set up for people who do not have symptoms but are looking for general advice: 0800 028 2816. 

Overseas visitors to Scotland, regardless of their residency status, are exempt from NHS charges for both the diagnosis and treatment of coronavirus (COVID-19). 

What is the situation in Scotland?

The first case of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland was confirmed in March 2020.

On 22 March, a total of 8679 Scottish tests have concluded. Of these:

·       8263 tests were confirmed negative

·       416 tests were positive

·       10 patients who tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) have died

For up to date figures see here.

Information for professionals and organisations

The latest information and advice for professionals and organisations is on the Health Protection Scotland website.

Brewers and distillers across Scotland are using their production facilities to make hand sanitiser to help fight the coronavirus outbreak.

BrewDog, Leith Gin and Verdant Spirits are all getting involved in efforts to ramp up production of hand sanitiser, amid shortages driven by coronavirus fears.

Verdant Spirits, based in Dundee, hopes to produce 400 litres of the gel this week. Owner Andrew Mackenzie tracked down the ingredients listed on the World Health Organisation’s website.

He said: “We put out a Facebook call because we couldn’t track down any hydrogen peroxide and that paid off, so we’ve got that covered.

“We’ve got 20 litres of glycerine coming which is all we can get, because they’re rationing.”

BrewDog’s founder, James Watt, announced on social media that the company had started producing sanitiser. “We are determined to do everything we can to try and help as many people as possible stay safe,” he said.

The company said it was “working around the clock on producing the first batch to have it available for next week”, and the sanitiser will be given away to local charities and the community rather than sold.

Leith Gin, tweeted its announcement.

“We have suspended spirit production and are making high strength hand sanitiser for those in need in our local community,”

The distillery also appealed for donations of small plastic bottles to use as packaging.

he HASCOG Scotland meeting scheduled to take place at REHIS HQ on Thursday 26 March has been cancelled.

In the light of the developing Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation the decision has been taken to postpone the presentation of this year’s Annual Environmental Health Forum, scheduled to take place on 29/30 April, and to consider its delivery in one format or another later in the year. A difficult decision to take but one that is right for the protection of public health and wellbeing in Scotland.

Please be assured that REHIS is monitoring the developing Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation. Scottish Government advice will inform any decision on whether or not to hold REHIS events and meetings and any decisions will be taken at the earliest opportunity and in the interests of public health. Decisions will be communicated to all participants, E-mail alerts will be issued to all who are registered to receive them and updates will be published on the REHIS website.

For further advice on Coronavirus (COVID-19) please visit:

www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/a-to-z-of-topics/wuhan-novel-coronavirus/ and 

www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-to-organisers-on-mass-events/.

Food Standards Scotland have published their annual report “Local Authority Food Sampling in Scotland”. 

The report utilised data from the Scottish Food Sampling Database (SFSD, formerly UKFSS) and was prepared by Food Standards Scotland, to support local authority food sampling programmes, in partnership with the Scottish Food Enforcement Liaison Committee’s Sampling and Surveillance Working Group.

The report shows that 7434 samples for the period 1st July 2018 to 30th June 2019 across all 32 Local Authorities in Scotland. 

Included are recommendations for action by local authorities for 2020/21 and areas where LA sampling programmes could support developing policy and interventions. 

Reports are available on the SFELC KHub page. 

The popular Beat the Street initiative is an innovative real-life walking game that helps build active communities with improved activity levels and a positive impact on air quality. So far, more than a million people have played the game in the UK and beyond and it is currently taking place in East Renfrewshire and East Kilbride.

The game works by encouraging people to form workplace, school or community teams and to ditch the car. Special sensors called Beat Boxes are placed on lampposts around the town or city for six weeks, which are then tapped by players with cards or fobs in return for points and prizes.

The game was devised by GP Dr William Bird who has devoted his career to encouraging people to lead more active lives and set up Reading-based technology firm Intelligent Health in 2009. The team now works with public sector health organisations and corporate partners in both the UK and around the world to tackle the massive global problem of inactivity. Each scheme is inclusive, low-cost and designed to suit people of all ages and abilities.

Beat the Street has had a positive impact in reducing the number of cars on the roads, helping to ease congestion and therefore helping with air quality; particularly at peak times. Throughout all the Beat the Street programmes delivered in Scotland in 2019, there was an 8% uplift in participants walking or cycling for travel on five or more days per week. Meanwhile, in the London Borough of Hounslow, 1,330 fewer cars and vans were observed travelling along just one Beat the Street target road following the game and in Blaby, Leicestershire, diffusion tubes situated through the district indicated a reduction of a third in air population (Nitrogen Dioxide) outside of schools.

There is now an opportunity to bring Beat the Street to your area throug Air Quality Action Fund. The closing date for this fund is 20th March.

Contact details:
Craig McGarrie
+44 (0)118 935 7371 / 07825 631137
intelligenthealth.co.uk
craig.mcgarrie@intelligenthealth.co.uk