The Institute is pleased to share the launch of our new website. The website has a slightly new look with several extra pages and additional features. Your existing login can be used to access the members only section of the website and you can reset your password by following the instructions on the log in page (please check your ‘junk emails’ where new password confirmation communications may be directed).
Approved Training Centres and members using the website to record their CPD, will see some changes
You’ll be directed to ‘Your REHIS’ when logged in
Members will be able to upload CPD and supporting evidence, and annually submit CPD directly from the website
Chartered EHOs will be able to upload and submit written submissions
Approved Training Centres course registrations and pack requests have been streamlined
We would encourage you to have a browse around the new website and if you have any queries or have trouble with your log in details, please email contact@
Measures to enhance public safety around the procedures will be considered which would restrict who can administer dermal fillers, also known as lip or face fillers, and would mean anyone administering must meet rigorous hygiene and clinical standards.
The Scottish Government will also scope other procedures to consider the need for further regulation.
The Scottish Government will now consider legislation to restrict who can administer dermal fillers, with the aim of protecting public safety. This will include further stakeholder engagement and consultation.
Secondary legislation will also be considered to bring pharmacists who provide services outside of NHS contracts under the regulation of HIS by adding them to the list of service providers included in the definition of an independent clinic in section 10F of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978. The public consultation overwhelmingly supported this proposal.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said:
“Our aim is to ensure that all non-surgical cosmetic procedures carried out in Scotland are delivered from hygienic premises by appropriately trained practitioners, applying recognised standards and using legitimate products.
“The consultation showed that 98% of respondents agreed that further regulation of non-surgical cosmetic procedures was needed. Most of the respondents felt that non-surgical cosmetic procedures should be conducted by trained, qualified and regulated healthcare professionals.
“If things go wrong when dermal fillers are administered, the complications can often cause long term damage that can only be reversed or limited by the urgent administration of specific prescription-only medication. We want to avoid those situations.”
A new data visualisation tool to help to help researchers better understand the effects medicines have on Scotland’s environment has been launched by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) on behalf of the One Health Breakthrough Partnership (OHBP).
‘Pharmaceuticals in the Water Environment’ is the first open access interactive tool in the UK to combine national environmental and prescribing data. With data for 60 medicines detected in river water, raw wastewater and treated wastewater, it is designed to help researchers, academics, health professionals and environmental scientists develop a better understanding of the link between medicine use and the presence of pharmaceuticals in the environment.
The One Health Breakthrough Partnership is a unique collaboration between SEPA, NHS Highland, Scottish Water and the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI). Bringing together key regional and national stakeholders across the water, environment, and healthcare sectors who are committed to addressing the issue of pharmaceutical pollution, the partnership is designed to stimulate innovation to help achieve optimal health for people, animals and our environment.
The data tool leads on from a Centre of Expertise for Waters (CREW) project for the OHBP which published its findings earlier this year in the report ‘Pharmaceuticals in the water environment: baseline assessment and recommendations’. The project combined and assessed published and unpublished academic data with monitoring data from Scottish Water and SEPA. These environmental data have been used to develop the data visualisation tool, alongside primary care (community) prescribing data from Public Health Scotland.
The main route for human medicines to enter the water environment is via our toilets. Some of this is due to the way our bodies metabolise medicines – between 30% and 100% of the active ingredient in an oral dose ends up being flushed away after people go to the toilet. Some is more easily avoidable – a 2021 survey showed around one in 10 people throw old and unused medicines down the sink or toilet instead of returning them to a pharmacy for safe disposal. In both situations, medicines can end up in sewage in wastewater treatment works, where treatment has not been designed to remove such pollutants, and are then discharged to the water environment.
Pollution of the water environment by medicines can negatively affect aquatic life by impacting their growth, behaviour, reproduction and survival. In most cases the concentrations of medicines in the water environment are much lower than the therapeutic dose, which makes it difficult to determine what impact they may be having. Medicines in the environment may also be contributing to an increase in bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites that no longer respond to medicines (known as antimicrobial resistance or AMR) and to the spread of antibiotic resistance in people. Making the data contained within the visualisation tool easily accessible means they can be used to inform research and improve wider understanding of these issues.
The tool will be used by the OHBP, research partners and others to explore and develop appropriate and sustainable solutions to reduce the discharge of pharmaceuticals to the environment. It will also guide monitoring efforts as the group continues to improve understanding of the environmental occurrence and impact of these pollutants.
John Redshaw, SEPA Principal Specialist Scientist and an OHBP lead, said:
“SEPA, as a founding member of the OHBP is pleased to have played a key role in the production of this data visualisation tool, which provides a very important step forward in addressing the discharge of medicines to Scotland’s water environment.
“SEPA is working with the OHBP and other UK partners to identify and prioritise the medicines that are presenting the greatest risks to our water environments and to explore ways in which such information might be used to inform prescribing of medicines and future regulatory standards.”
NHS Highland OHBP lead, Sharon Pfleger, Consultant in Pharmaceutical Public Health, said:
“NHS Highland is delighted to see the launch of ‘Pharmaceuticals in the Water Environment’. Over the last year we have been working with our partners in the OHBP to develop the first tool which combines prescribing data with data about water quality and the presence of pharmaceuticals. We are committed to helping keep our environment as well as our public healthy and to making the use of medicines as sustainable as possible. We are excited to now have this tool to help us take forward further work to help educate our prescribers and the public and make medicines taking as environmentally friendly as possible.”
A new practice development hub for reducing inequalities is now available on the PHS Virtual Learning Environment. Primarily for those in public service roles, it aims to improve skills and day to day working practice so that action can be taken to reduce inequalities.
Scotland’s public services have a duty to reduce inequalities and help create a society where everyone can thrive. This resource provides practice improvement support for making services inclusive, strengthening partnership working and community advocacy.
This hub has been designed as a flexible resource where individuals can select sections most relevant to their learning needs and source information about how to integrate actions in their daily work.
Vicky Bibby, Director of Strategic Planning and Performance, PHS said:
“Understanding the necessity of addressing inequalities in our community is important; having the tools and support to put this into practice is vital.
“We have already launched the Health Inequalities learning hub which raises awareness of the relationship between discrimination, inequalities and health inequalities, a critical first step for building knowledge to enable actions.
“This new resource has been specifically developed to offer practical guidance, methods and frameworks to help those in public service roles reduce inequalities in the services they provide.
“We will continue to build the wider learning development programme, with a view to adding resources that consider inequalities in Procurement and The Workplace.”
Scotland’s councils have had a pivotal role in supporting and working with communities as they responded to the impacts of Covid-19. Now councils must lead recovery work with and alongside their local communities, focusing on getting the services people need in place as pressures and stresses escalate and impact the day to day lives of individuals and communities.
In its 2022, Local Government Overview report, the Accounts Commission, who report to the public on the performance of local government, detail particular low points for Environmental Health services:
Trading standards and environmental health Services have lost 34% of their expenditure (real terms) since 2010/11. This makes it the third worst hit Local Authority service with street cleaning and libraries at 35% and 36% respectively. These longer-term spending reductions have placed the service under pressure as it responds and recovers from Covid-19.
50% of Local Authorities in Scotland are reporting a skills shortage for Environmental Health Officers. This makes it the fifth worst Local Authority occupational skill gap in Scotland.
The report also highlights the increasing burden on environmental health from new pressures. The inability to clear backlogs and meet new demands is a risk to wider recovery.
The Accounts Commission are clear that recovery and renewal across councils isn’t about a return to pre-pandemic service delivery. It must be about much more, changing and challenging how services are delivered.
The position for councils, is however, challenging and complex:
dealing with increasing demand and service backlogs
long-standing pressures, including rising poverty and inequalities
high absence levels and acute skills shortages amongst some key front-line workers
a lack of certainty and flexibility over long-term funding
national priorities, including climate change and public sector reform.
William Moyes, Chair of the Accounts Commission said:
“Councils are operating in a complex and increasingly volatile, unprecedented and unpredictable environment. Strong leadership from councils is needed now more than ever, with new and returning councillors being able and willing to make difficult decisions about where and how to spend highly pressurised resources.
Pressures on councils and their communities have intensified from spiralling inflation and significant increases to the cost of living. This has direct and unintended consequences on councils at a time when they sought a period of stability to tackle the impacts of the pandemic. Councillors and senior officers must use learning from the past two years, working with their partners and communities in the recovery, renewal and difficult decision making about the future of services.
A new study from Public Health Scotland in collaboration with the University of Glasgow and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, published today, investigates a large outbreak of COVID-19 among students resident at university accommodation in Scotland at the start of the autumn 2020 term. It clearly describes the potential for rapid spread of COVID-19 within and between university accommodation.
A total of 1,039 student cases of COVID-19 were identified in this study between September and November 2020, with 50% associated with the student halls. Whole genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 disease, combined with epidemiological information was used to provide a deep insight into this outbreak.
The study estimated that at least 11 independent introductions of SARS-CoV-2 into the student population had occurred, with four leading to large outbreaks, and with a complex picture of transmission within and between student halls. Data strongly indicated that for at least two of the four outbreaks, the virus had been imported from within Scotland, owing to a high proportion of students domiciled within Scotland.
Overall there was a strong indication that the infection spread via social activity and gatherings associated with Freshers’ Week. There was no evidence that the university outbreak had significantly impacted on transmission within the local community.
The higher education setting presents a risk for contributing to the winter burden of COVID-19. With rapid identification, and implementation of non-pharmaceutical control interventions, the impact of outbreaks arising in student halls on local communities may be limited. Public health guidance should consider regional differences in the domicile locations of student populations, and of university accommodation and social structures.
Whole genome sequencing is used to monitor the spread and movement of the virus as well as for detecting and tracking variants of COVID-19. Around 350,000 whole genome sequences have been generated in Scotland for COVID-19 to date, from COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium partner laboratories and Scotland’s NHS sequencing service. This study maximises these data to generate detailed intelligence on outbreaks.
The university outbreak occurred before the rollout of vaccination and the use of lateral flow devices for regular testing. The study highlights a number of findings which are now being used to support plans for students returning to universities at the start of the autumn term.
Dr Alison Smith-Palmer, Senior author of the study and Consultant in Public Health at Public Health Scotland said:
“Since the start of the pandemic, Public Health Scotland has been using whole genome sequencing to help understand the transmission of the virus in the community and how it spreads in outbreaks, and to manage the risks of new variants or mutations. The data and information we gain through sequencing has played a crucial role in being able to look back at an outbreak such as this. It allows us to investigate it further for public health benefit and to support the overall response to COVID-19, as well as any future outbreaks of different viruses like flu.
Despite the scale at which this particular outbreak grew, it came to a rapid end following the swift action of the University and the local Public Health Protection Team at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, along with an apparent high compliance from the students affected. These actions prevented any further rise in case numbers and also limited any impact on the surrounding community.”
Chris Illingworth, co-senior author and Senior Lecturer at the University of Glasgow said:
“This study is a reminder that COVID-19 can spread extremely rapidly: Within a short time of the virus getting into the University more than 1,000 students were infected. Prompt action to stop the spread of the virus was effective in bringing the outbreak to an end and preventing any long-term impact on the wider Glasgow community.”
Dr Catriona Milosevic, co-author of the study and Consultant in Public Health Medicine, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said:
“COVID-19 has presented us all with huge challenges. This study is a reminder of the impact the pandemic had on university students and staff, as well as adding to our understanding of transmission of infection in these settings. Our job is to assess an outbreak and work with partners to bring it to an end. We are grateful to colleagues at the University of Glasgow, Public Health Scotland and in Environmental Health for the excellent support we received during this outbreak.”
A hundred and twenty-three workers were killed in work-related accidents in Great Britain in the last year, according to figures published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
The annual data release covers the period from April 2021 to March 2022, during which time most pandemic restrictions were lifted and the economy began returning to normal.
The industries with the highest deaths were construction (30), agriculture, forestry, and fishing (22), and manufacturing (22); though agriculture, forestry and fishing has the highest rate of fatal injury per 100,000 workers.
The three most common causes of fatal injuries continue to be falling from height (29), being struck by a moving vehicle (23), and being struck by a moving object (18).
The 123 worker deaths in 2021/22 is lower than the previous year, though it is in line with pre-pandemic figures. There has been a long-term downward trend in the rate of fatal injuries to workers, though in the years prior to the coronavirus pandemic the rate was broadly flat.
A further 80 members of the public were killed following a work-related accident in 2021/22. This is an increase on the previous year but below the pre-pandemic level. This is likely to reflect the various COVID-19 restrictions in place.
The release of the annual figures coincides with the 50th anniversary this month of the publication of the Robens report. The landmark report led to the Health and Safety at Work Act in 1974, which ultimately led to the HSE being set up the following year.
Since then, Great Britain has become one of the safest places in the world to work with the number of workplace deaths and injuries falling significantly.
HSE’s Chief Executive Sarah Albon said: “While Great Britain is one of the safest countries in the world to work, today’s figures show we must continue to ensure safety remains a priority. Every loss of life is a tragedy, and we are committed to making workplaces safer and holding employers to account for their actions, as part of our mission to protect people and places.”
The figures relate to work-related accidents and do not include deaths arising from occupational diseases or diseases arising from certain occupational exposures (including Covid-19).
The HSE has also published the annual figures for Mesothelioma, which is a cancer that can be caused by past exposure to asbestos. The figures show that 2,544 people died from the disease in 2020. This is in line with the average of 2,523 deaths over the previous eight years. Current mesothelioma deaths reflect exposure to asbestos that mainly occurred before the 1980s and annual deaths are expected to decline during the next decade.
Workplace fatal injuries in Great Britain, 2022 report can be read here.
The monkeypox outbreak has been declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) by the World Health Organization. The classification is the highest alert that the WHO can issue and follows a worldwide upsurge in cases. It came at the end of the second meeting of the WHO’s International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) Emergency Committee regarding the multi-country outbreak of monkeypox
The WHO Director-General Dr Tedros said the emergency committee members had been unable to reach a consensus on whether the monkeypox outbreak should be classified as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) for this event.
However, he said after having considered the views of Committee Members and Advisors as well as other factors in line with the International Health Regulations, the Director-General has determined that the multi-country outbreak of monkeypox constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
More than 16,000 cases have now been reported from 75 countries and sadly there had been five deaths so far as a result of the outbreak.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’ stated “…in short, we have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly, through new modes of transmission, about which we understand too little, and which meets the criteria in the International Health Regulations.
For all of these reasons, I have decided that the global monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern.
Accordingly, I have made a set of recommendations for four groups of countries:
First, those that have not yet reported a case of monkeypox, or have not reported a case for more than 21 days;
Second, those with recently imported cases of monkeypox and that are experiencing human-to-human transmission.
This includes recommendations to implement a coordinated response to stop transmission and protect vulnerable groups;
To engage and protect affected communities;
To intensify surveillance and public health measures;
To strengthen clinical management and infection prevention and control in hospitals and clinics;
To accelerate research into the use of vaccines, therapeutics and other tools;
And recommendations on international travel.
The third group of countries is those with transmission of monkeypox between animals and humans;
And the fourth is countries with manufacturing capacity for diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics.
My full recommendations are laid out in my statement.
I thank the Emergency Committee for its deliberations and advice. I know this has not been an easy or straightforward process, and that there are divergent views among the members.
The International Health Regulations remains a vital tool for responding to the international spread of disease.
But this process demonstrates once again that this vital tool needs to be sharpened to make it more effective.
So I’m pleased that alongside the process of negotiating a new international accord on pandemic preparedness and response, WHO’s Member States are also considering targeted amendments to the International Health Regulations, including ways to improve the process for declaring a public health emergency of international concern.
Although I am declaring a public health emergency of international concern, for the moment this is an outbreak that is concentrated among men who have sex with men, especially those with multiple sexual partners.
That means that this is an outbreak that can be stopped with the right strategies in the right groups.
It’s therefore essential that all countries work closely with communities of men who have sex with men, to design and deliver effective information and services, and to adopt measures that protect the health, human rights and dignity of affected communities.”
Read WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’ full statement on the press conference following the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee regarding the multi-country outbreak of monkeypox here.
A campaign is running this summer to raise awareness of tick bites and the symptoms of Lyme Disease.
Ticks are tiny spider-like creatures found in woodland and moorland areas. They feed on the blood of birds and mammals, including humans.
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection spread to humans by infected ticks. It’s also known as Lyme borreliosis.
Key symptoms of Lyme disease include a large, reddened skin rash spreading out from the site of a tick bite or flu-like symptoms after being bitten by a tick. Both situations should trigger a call to a GP practice so that the risk of Lyme disease can be assessed and treatment offered.
The symptoms of Lyme disease tend to be mild and, if detected early, respond very well to a course of antibiotics. If early symptoms are missed or ignored it is more likely that longer-term symptoms will develop.
To avoid being bitten by ticks, cover up bare skin with long trousers and long sleeves when in outdoor green spaces. Using insect repellents also helps.
It’s also really important to check for ticks after spending time in outdoor green spaces.
If you do discover a tick attached to you or someone who you’re with, there’s no need to panic. Removing attached ticks properly and quickly using a specially designed tick removal tool greatly reduces the likelihood that they can pass any bugs on to you. The plastic ones shaped like a little claw hammer (Tick twister) or credit card (Tick card) are generally the easiest to use.
The Scottish Government’s consultation seeks views on restricting the promotion of confectionery, cakes, crisps, savoury snacks and sugary soft drinks at checkouts and front of store, and on multi-buy discounts.
The consultation seeks views on foods that would be subject to restrictions, types of price promotions that would be subject to restrictions and restrictions on the location of targeted foods.
It also seeks views on enforcement and implementation. It is proposed that local authorities (LAs) are given the role of enforcing the proposed policy. LAs remain responsible for enforcing existing food law in the businesses within scope of this policy, the Scottish Government propose that LAs are best placed to support delivery and enforcement of the policy outlined in this consultation paper.
It is proposed that local authorities are given relevant enforcement powers, including powers of entry and powers to obtain information. Similar to food safety legislation, the Scottish Government are considering that local authorities would also have relevant powers for handling non-compliance with legal requirements.
The consultation will help assess what impact the proposed restrictions would have on businesses and public health, including on health inequalities. It will run for 12 weeks to 23 September 2022.
Minister for Public Health Maree Todd said:
“Our diets remain too high in calories, fat, sugar and salt which can have serious consequences for our overall health.
“In Scotland, two out of three adults are overweight or obese, with those living in our poorest areas more likely to be overweight and experience the most harm as a result.
“We know that promotions can encourage over-consumption and impulse buying.
“By restricting the promotion of less healthy food and drink we can better support people to make healthier choices and help create a Scotland where everyone eats well and has a healthy weight.”
Food Standards Scotland (FSS) Head of Nutrition Science and Policy Dr Gillian Purdon said:
“We welcome the launch of the Scottish Government’s consultation on restricting promotions of foods high in fat, salt or sugar.
“FSS supports the introduction of promotional restrictions on these products as part of a suite of recommendations to address the nation’s poor diet. Promotions can encourage us to buy more than we need, and don’t necessarily save us money.
“Evidence shows that a considerable amount of the food and drink we buy is on promotion, and is often skewed towards less healthy choices such as confectionery, sweet biscuits, savoury snacks, cakes, pastries, puddings and sugar containing soft drinks. These foods account for around 20% of calories and fat in our diet, and more than half of our free sugar intake.
“Restricting promotions of these types of foods is one way to support people to make healthier choices.”
The consultation runs until 23 September and can be found here .
New legislation to control the sale and use of fireworks will improve public safety and benefit communities for years to come.
The Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Bill passed following a Scottish Parliament debate and introduces a fireworks licensing system, with mandatory safety training, for people wishing to purchase and use fireworks.
It also introduces powers for local authorities to designate firework control zones, restrictions on the supply and use of fireworks, and a new offence to criminalise the supply of fireworks and pyrotechnics to under-18s.
Being in possession of a firework or other pyrotechnic in a public place, or at certain places or events, without reasonable excuse also becomes an offence.
The Bill is the final legislative part of work towards improvements in firework safety which began in 2019, with an overwhelming response to a consultation on the use of fireworks, across over 16,000 responses, delivering a very clear message on the desire for change. This lead to the creation of the Fireworks Action Plan and the establishment of the Firework Review Group, chaired by Alasdair Hay. The group made a series of recommendations for legislative and non-legislative changes to reduce the harm and the disturbance from firework use.
A further consultation last year, ahead of the Bill’s introduction, further demonstrated strong desire for change. Analysis of the 2021 consultation responses showed 84% of respondents agreed a fireworks licensing system should be introduced in Scotland.
The Bill received backing from a coalition of professional medical bodies including the BMA, The Royal College of Ophthalmology, and The British Society for Surgery of the Hand, along with support from emergency services and animal charities.
Community Safety Minister Ash Regan said:
“This ground-breaking new legislation will improve the lives of people right across Scotland.
“This is not a ban on fireworks. We still want people to enjoy them safely, for example attending organised displays.
“But this vitally important step will make firework use more predictable and safer. The Bill will ensure appropriate action can be taken over the dangerous or disruptive use of fireworks, as well as reducing the misuse of pyrotechnic devices such as flares.
“It also demonstrates our absolute commitment to further improve safety for communities across Scotland.
“I am deeply grateful for valued support and consideration this Bill received from NHS staff, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, the Scottish SPCA and Police Scotland.”
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