Category: News Item

An occupational health expert is calling for a major review of workplace health and safety in Scotland following “failings” revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a new report, Occupational health and safety in Scotland after the Covid-19 pandemic argues that current policies on health and safety – the power for which lies with the UK Government – are not fit for practice. It also makes a number of recommendations to protect employees – including the creation of a new independent health and safety body for Scotland.

The research by Professor Andrew Watterson of the University of Stirling. carried out on behalf of think-tank the Jimmy Reid Foundation, outlines the case for new principles, policies and practices based on three themes:

• The challenges to workplace health and safety in Scotland during the pandemic;
• How those challenges relate to past failures and missed opportunities in the UK and Scotland on workplace health and safety prior to 2020; and
• The future of workplace health and safety in a devolved or independent Scotland.

Professor Watterson, Head of the Occupational and Environmental Research Group at University of Stirling, said: “The challenges presented by COVID-19 have revealed many failings in the way the UK has addressed worker health and public health: the two cannot be divided. Scotland has faced the pandemic challenge far better than the UK Government.

“It is critical that it now builds on its work post-pandemic and improves worker health and safety through a range of measures involving health, social and economic policy changes, and with recovery plans that create healthy and safe jobs across Scotland in a radical Green New Deal.”

In the paper, Professor Watterson, makes the following recommendations:

• Scotland needs an independent, properly resourced and staffed occupational health and safety body with effective representation at board level for workers and their unions, employers, local authorities and communities. Safeguarding the workforce also safeguards communities, public health and the economy from the damage done by occupational illnesses and injuries.
• A Scottish Occupational Health Service Agency (SOHSA) should be developed and mainstreamed within NHS Scotland to end the employer driven, free market delivery of occupational health interventions deeply distrusted by workers and unions.
• Worker health and safety should be based on effective and coherent principles, policies and practices geared to prevention. This is currently often missing or marginalised in a deregulatory climate that highlights ‘flexibility, proportionate and common-sense action’, which is a code for inaction.
• Worker health and safety should never be neglected in pandemic planning by public health bodies lacking expertise and autonomy and unable to effectively safeguard all workers
• Unlike the UK, the Scottish Government should adopt, in a devolved or independent state, all International Labour Organisation conventions on occupational health and effective precautionary principles.

Professor Gregor Gall, Director of the Jimmy Reid Foundation, said: “The Foundation very much welcomes Professor Watterson’s valuable contribution to not only critically analysing the state of play of occupational health and safety in Scotland in the period of the pandemic, but also by setting out a number of key recommendations which would significantly enhance the health and wellbeing of workers in Scotland.

“After all, we are constantly told by employers that workers are their most valuable asset. It is time this perspective was realised and Professor Watterson has provided the recommendations which would allow this to happen.”

Views are being sought from consumers, health professionals and the food and drink industry as part of a UK-wide consultation on front of pack nutrition labelling (FOPNL).

The UK Government want your views on making sure the 'traffic light' front-of-pack nutrition labels (FOPNL) scheme continues to help people choose what food and drink to buy.

The consultation aims to build on the success of the UK’s FOPNL scheme to make sure it continues to inform consumers and support them in making healthier food and drink choices.

This consultation is inviting views and evidence on:

• the UK's recommended FOPNL scheme – how the current multiple traffic light label is being used by consumers and industry
• new international examples – including the composite nutri-score and Chile's health warning labels
• whether new nutrition advice on sugar and fibre should be incorporated into any future FOPNL

The consultation is now live and you have until 21 October 2020 to share your views.

The UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence carried out Research into Private Rented Sector Legislation across the UK and has published a report and two briefing papers, one policy briefing and one practice briefing, summarising the key findings and making recommendations.

Full report – Improving compliance with private rented sector legislation

Policy briefing – Improving compliance and enforcement in the private rented sector: Information for UK and devolved governments

Practice briefing – Improving compliance in the private rented sector: Information for local authorities

From next month, the Institute will be running a series of articles titled ‘COVID DIARIES’ based on work being carried out during the pandemic and will be asking various members of the Institute and those leading, and working in the field of public health for their contributions.

The articles will feature in the eNewsletter each month and also will feature some responses in the EHS Journal.

We will be contact with various different people however, if you do wish to contribute please get in touch by contacting Sarah Groom sg@ or Jackie McCabe jm@.

Further rules for the hospitality sector, including the introduction of new statutory guidance are now in place, to increase compliance and keep the sector safely open.

From 14 August, new regulations make it mandatory for hospitality settings to collect customer and visitor information to their premises in support of Test and Protect. The new regulation mains points are:

• They apply to restaurants, cafes, pubs and hotels in which food or drink are sold for consumption on the premises.
• These businesses must now record the name and contact number of an individual – or lead member of each household in a group – that visits the premises.
• They must also record the date of the visit, the time of arrival, and where possible the departure time.
• The new regulations include customers, staff working on a particular day and visitors such as delivery drivers or cleaners.
• Premises must store the information for 21 days and share it when requested to do so by public health officers within 24 hours.

In addition there is new statutory guidance for the hospitality sector which was published on 14 August- this means the measures that were guidance before are now statutory. Some of the main points are:

• Hospitality premises should be collecting customer contact details for Test and Protect.
• Tables should be pre-booked where possible, with no queueing inside and to avoid queuing outside.
• There should be no background music and TVs should be muted to reduce the need for people to shout or lean in to each other.
• No more than three households at a time should be meeting in a group.
• Table service with no standing/all customers seated.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said:

“While many hospitality businesses have acted responsibly by adhering to the voluntary approach of collecting customer details, unfortunately too many others have not, and so – given the established high risk of virus transmission within hospitality settings – we have decided to make this mandatory.

“Strengthening this requirement to collect and share the data by moving it from guidance into regulations ensures that in the event of an outbreak, through the Test and Protect process, it will be possible to get in touch with anyone identified as a close contact who was present at the same time as an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19.

“This will help us break chains of transmission while continuing to allow us to socialise and support our local businesses.

“It is worth stressing that for those hospitality venues which are already complying with guidance, they will see minimal change to their procedures and operations.”

Chief executive of the Scottish Beer and Pub Association Emma McClarkin said:

“The majority of Scotland’s pubs and bars had already gone above and beyond in putting measures in place to keep customers safe during this time.

“These changes today will help ensure those premises which have fallen short no longer do so, and we welcome that clarity.

“We’re all in this together and the stronger we are now, the sooner we will be able to see these restrictions disappear.”

REHIS President Lisa McCann attended a virtual event for stakeholders, showing Public Health Scotland’s proposed first strategic plan for the period 2020 -23. The event included request for comment on the strategic plan. REHIS submitted response indicating general agreement with the high level key priorities of the new Body but questioning the absence of tackling obesity challenges in Scotland. The response focussed on the importance of ensuring a competent workforce to tackle the priorities and in particular the challenges that the Environmental Health profession has, with regards to the issues highlighted in the Society of Chief Officers of Environmental Health in Scotland/REHIS Workforce Strategy Report and the need for funding to support students through the professional qualification. Comments received from stakeholders are to be considered and a revised plan developed in September.

Food Standards Scotland have updated its guidance for food business operators (FBOs) and their employees on 11 August. It aims to assist all businesses in the food and drink sector in following government guidance on infection prevention and control measures against COVID-19. It has been produced with input from the food industry and Trade Unions and reflects the most up to date advice from Scottish and UK Government and Health Protection Scotland.

The update makes an amendment of section on take-aways to reflect the mandatory wearing of face coverings (as updated by Scottish Government on 7 August 2020) and also updates the section on face shields/visors to take account of new evidence.

The Scottish Government have published guidance for call centre or customer contact centre environments on safe operation during the coronavirus pandemic. It came into effect on the 3 August 2020 and extends until further notice. 

The Scottish Government have worked with employers and trade unions from the contact centre sector to ensure that this guidance is evidence-based, fair and ethical, clear and realistic. 

On Wednesday 22 July First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed in her Coronavirus (COVID-19) update speech that Environmental Health Officers had visited a number of secondary locations with links to COVID-19 outbreak in Lanarkshire, based around the Sitel call centre.

EHOs visited Owen’s Bar in Coatbridge; The Railway Tavern and Merlin’s Bar in Motherwell; Costa Coffee in Carfin; and END clothing in Glasgow and all were satisfied that precautions such as protective equipment and cleaning were in place, and that the risk of transmission is therefore low. 

With the exception of identified close contacts, people who have attended those locations are not being asked to isolate, but to be vigilant about symptoms and if they have any symptoms to immediately isolate and book a test.

The locations were identified through contact tracing as a number of Sitel staff who have tested positive also had links to these locations, prior to becoming aware of the outbreak.

As of 22 July there has been 20 positive cases associated with the outbreak including 15 who work at the Sitel site and a further five additional positive cases have been identified through the tracing of family members and close contacts.

Since Sunday 19 July an intensive contact tracing operation has been underway. 63 contacts identified as needing to be traced and, so far, 56 have been reached

All staff at Sitel have been told to isolate at home for 14 days, and in addition all staff have been asked to come forward for testing.  As of this 22 July, around 393 test results, out of around 400 tested overall, have been returned.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “Where clusters of cases develop we must find them and act quickly to prevent further spread. Public health teams in Lanarkshire have responded swiftly to track the spread of the virus and identify any close contacts of the Sitel employees.

“At this point it is considered that there is a low risk of transmission for people who have attended these locations and have not been in close contact with someone who has tested positive. However, individuals who have been in these locations should be extra vigilant, ensure they follow all public health advice, and if they have any symptoms of COVID-19 should isolate and book a test on the NHS website.”

Chief Medical Officer Gregor Smith said: “We would like to thank the premises concerned for their co-operation and for their commitment to following national guidance to ensure the safety of their staff and customers.

“The Incident Management Team believe the risk to the public of COVID-19 is low given staff in these locations were wearing appropriate PPE. However, this is an ongoing process and they will continue to work with any premises as and when further cases develop.

“As always, please follow national guidance on the NHS Inform website if you have been in contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 or develop symptoms.”

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take lives and disrupt economies across the world, a new report warns that further outbreaks will emerge unless governments take active measures to prevent other zoonotic diseases from crossing into the human population, and sets out ten recommendations to prevent future pandemics.

The report, Preventing the Next Pandemic: Zoonotic diseases and how to break the chain of transmission, is a joint effort by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).

It identifies seven trends driving the increasing emergence of zoonotic diseases, including increased demand for animal protein; a rise in intense and unsustainable farming; the increased use and exploitation of wildlife; and the climate crisis. The report finds that Africa in particular, which has experienced and responded to a number of zoonotic epidemics including most recently, to Ebola outbreaks, could be a source of important solutions to quell future outbreaks.

“The science is clear that if we keep exploiting wildlife and destroying our ecosystems, then we can expect to see a steady stream of these diseases jumping from animals to humans in the years ahead,” said UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen. “Pandemics are devastating to our lives and our economies, and as we have seen over the past months, it is the poorest and the most vulnerable who suffer the most. To prevent future outbreaks, we must become much more deliberate about protecting our natural environment.”

A “zoonotic disease” or “zoonosis” is a disease that has passed into the human population from an animal source. COVID-19, which has already caused more than half a million deaths around the world, most likely originated in bats. But COVID-19 is only the latest in a growing number of diseases – including Ebola, MERS, West Nile fever and Rift Valley fever – whose spread from animal hosts into human populations has been intensified by anthropogenic pressures.

Every year, some two million people, mostly in low- and middle-income countries, die from neglected zoonotic diseases. The same outbreaks can cause severe illness, deaths, and productivity losses among livestock populations in the developing world, a major problem that keeps hundreds of millions of small-scale farmers in severe poverty. In the last two decades alone, zoonotic diseases have caused economic losses of more than $100 billion, not including the cost of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is expected to reach $9 trillion over the next few years.

African countries have an opportunity to lead pandemic prevention efforts

Zoonotic diseases are on the rise everywhere on the planet, and African countries – a number of which have successfully managed deadly zoonotic outbreaks – have the potential to leverage this experience to tackle future outbreaks through approaches that incorporate human, animal and environmental health. The continent is home to a large portion of the world’s remaining intact rainforests and other wild lands. Africa is also home to the world’s fastest-growing human population, leading to an increase in encounters between livestock and wildlife and in turn, the risk of zoonotic diseases.

“The situation on the continent today is ripe for intensifying existing zoonotic diseases and facilitating the emergence and spread of new ones,” said ILRI Director General Jimmy Smith. “But with their experiences with Ebola and other emerging diseases, African countries are demonstrating proactive ways to manage disease outbreaks. They are applying, for example, novel risk-based rather than rule-based approaches to disease control, which are best suited to resource-poor settings, and they are joining up human, animal and environment expertise in proactive One Health initiatives.”

The report’s authors identify the One Health approach — which unites public health, veterinary and environmental expertise — as the optimal method for preventing as well as responding to zoonotic disease outbreaks and pandemics.

10 recommendations

The report identifies ten practical steps that governments can take to prevent future zoonotic outbreaks:

1. Investing in interdisciplinary approaches, including One Health;
2. Expanding scientific enquiry into zoonotic diseases;
3. Improving cost-benefit analyses of interventions to include full-cost accounting of societal impacts of disease;
4. Raising awareness of zoonotic diseases;
5. Strengthening monitoring and regulation practices associated with zoonotic diseases, including food systems;
6. Incentivizing sustainable land management practices and developing alternatives for food security and livelihoods that do not rely on the destruction of habitats and biodiversity;
7. Improving biosecurity and control, identifying key drivers of emerging diseases in animal husbandry and encouraging proven management and zoonotic disease control measures;
8. Supporting the sustainable management of landscapes and seascapes that enhance sustainable co-existence of agriculture and wildlife;
9. Strengthening capacities among health stakeholders in all countries; and
10. Operationalizing the One Health approach in land-use and sustainable development planning, implementation and monitoring, among other fields.

The report launch comes on World Zoonoses Day, observed by research institutions and nongovernmental entities on 6 July, which commemorates the work of French biologist Louis Pasteur. On 6 July 1885, Pasteur successfully administered the first vaccine against rabies, a zoonotic disease.

The REHIS Food Hygiene Secondary Schools Initiative, which is co-funded by the Institute and Food Standards Scotland, was adapted to be delivered digitally to allow secondary school pupils in Scotland complete the REHIS Elementary Food Hygiene course (SCQF Level 5) through homeworking. This proved to be very welcome and vital for the Home Economics teachers in supporting their pupils during the pandemic lockdown.

The positive feedback from the teachers was overwhelming with over 14,000 pupils taking up the Initiative. The learning resources were securely loaded to the school platform which allowed the pupils to work at their own speed with the support of their teacher. The examination will be held on their return to the classroom in the autumn term.

A new development for this year was the co-funding of the REHIS Elementary Food and Health course (SCQF Level 5). This course covers a basic knowledge of healthy eating, nutrition and health. Again this course was also able to be delivered digitally and has been enormously well received by the schools.

The Scottish Government Benchmarking and Improving Evidence Team (BIET) now accepts REHIS qualifications to the Insight report. This reports on how secondary schools are performing based on achievement of qualifications and is part of the national improvement framework and improvement plan for Scottish education. A report from the Institute was submitted to the Insight team in July detailing all the S4-S6 pupils who have achieved REHIS qualifications and these will now be part of the overall plan.

As Scotland have moved into Phases 2 and 3 of Scotland's route map the Scottish Government has produced additional guidance for the sectors who are allowed to open.

Hairdressers and Barbers

Hairdressers and barbers re-opened on 15 July.

The guidance also covers services such as beauty salons, spas, indoor photography studios and make-up counters which have been given an indicative opening date of 22 July.

The guidance has been produced in a section of the Retail guidance titled “Close Contacts Services”

Key measures include:

• physical distancing with marked areas between seats and treatment stations
• perspex screens installed at workstations, including reception areas if possible
• bookings by appointment only with times staggered to minimise overlap of clients
• the retention of customer details for four weeks to share details for Test and Protect if required
• face coverings mandatory for staff and customers with visors recommended for staff
• reading materials and refreshments removed other than water on request

Places of worship

Places of worship re-opened for congregational worship and prayer and religious life event ceremonies on 15 July and guidance has been published to help them prepare.

Key measures include:

• restrictions on capacity so that a safe distance of at least 2 metres can be maintained between individuals from different household groups.
• No place of worship should admit more than 50 people at any one time, regardless of its size or usual capacity, with a limit of 20 on weddings and funerals
• the retention of worshippers’ contact details to share for Test and Protect if required
• no communal prayer books, prayer mats or other shared items
• faith leaders and those responsible for places of worship must take all reasonable measures to adapt faith-specific rites and rituals to ensure the safety of those present
• singing, chanting and the playing of wind instruments should be avoided pending further scientific and medical advice on the risks of transmission from such activities

Museums, galleries and heritage sites

Visitor attractions such as museums, galleries and heritage sites re-opened to visitors from 15 July.

As venues start to welcome guests, they are expected to ensure strict physical distancing is in place and for many of these facilities advanced ticketing will be required.

Photo credit: adorn hairdressers