Improving and protecting health and wellbeing in Scotland through education, training and qualifications in Environmental Health
Please keep in touch and let us know how you are getting on during this pandemic and how your work is adapting to the COVID 19 pandemic.
It will be great to share any best practice with the Environmental Health community in Scotland and recognise those who are going above beyond.
The feedback will be published in April’s Newsletter at the end of the month.
Please email sg@.
The Society of Chief Officers of Environmental Health in Scotland (SoCOEHS) were approached by COSLA regarding potential enforcement of the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 and confirmed support of these powers. SoCOEHS has been working hard, liaising with Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland (SCOTSS), to agree a consistent approach and has been in discussions with COSLA, SOLACE and Police Scotland. This is a significant public health measure and the SoCOEHS, through the Chair, believe that the environmental health profession, working with colleagues, has a key role to play. In a short period of time a Governance Group has been established, which comprises Alan Morrison, Brian Lawrie, the Chair/Vice Chair of SCOTTS, and COSLA, and Brian is leading a subgroup looking at the detail of the work. Key actions to date are:
• All 32 local authorities have arrangements in place to authorise officers (principally environmental health and trading standards professionals) to enforce the provisions of the Regulations, and in particular Regulations 3 and 4 as they relate to premises and social distancing.
• All 32 local authorities have agreed, in principle, the enforcement approach of Engage, Explain, Encourage and Enforcement, with the move to enforcement where public health is compromised or there is no cooperation by business.
• There is work ongoing at a local authority level in preparedness of the new duties.
• There has been liaison with Police Scotland at a local level and in some instances, (North and South Lanarkshire), formal memorandums put in place
• Contact has been established with the single point of contact in Police Scotland Policy Unit and will maintain these relationships, in order to promote consistency and partnership working.
• The SoCOEH and SCOTTS have an agreed approach to these requirements and have established a working group which will seek to promote a common approach across Scotland. Already this has agreed a format for a Prohibition Notice and is preparing other guidance and examples of best practice. The group will also develop reporting datasets which will demonstrate the important work and outcomes being delivered.
• Some issues or difficulties with the practical application of the Regulations have been identified and its important that these are directly fed into any review.
• COSLA agreed that the established SOCOEHS/SCOTSS working group are the experts in respect of legislative scrutiny, and they should be the ones to liaise with Scottish Government.
This provides an opportunity for environmental health to demonstrate our effectiveness in delivering effective public health controls and working in partnership to deliver these measures.
For further information, please contact your Chief EHO as things will have developed by the time you read this article, or alternatively Alan Morrison or Brian Lawrie at the SoCOEH.
Keep up to date with the coronavirus situation in Scotland through the Scottish Government website.
The website is available here.
The Health and Safety Executive has produced guidance on Social Distancing, keeping businesses open and in work activities during the coronavirus outbreak.
The guidance is available here.
Food Standards Scotland has published guidance which has been developed to address questions raised by the food industry in Scotland on how to apply the COVID-19 control measures in food manufacturing and processing premises. The guidance has been structured in a way that enables individual businesses to assess their ability to implement requirements for preventing the spread of COVID-19 in their premises and protect their staff from infection, including ways that they can apply physical (social) distancing in food production and communal areas.
The guidance is available here.
REHIS Spring 2020 edition is now available.
The e-magazine format is more user friendly and offers greater functionality with hyperlinks connecting to other websites and the contents page connecting to a selected article. There is also a page turning function feature.
The e-magazine format is openable and readable here.
The pdf format can be downloaded here.
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.
