Category: News Item

A total of 56 confirmed cases have been linked to an E.Coli O157 outbreak in East Lothian. The outbreak resulted in the closure of five nurseries, all of which have since reopened following inspections from East Lothian Council environmental health team, the Care Inspectorate and NHS Lothian Public Health team.

NHS Lothian formed an Incident Management Team (IMT) to investigate the cluster of cases. The IMT was made up a number of organisations including NHS Lothian Health Protection Team, Public Health Scotland, East Lothian Environmental Health Department, East Lothian Education Department, and the Care Inspectorate.

The role of the IMT was to identify cases, prevent further spread of the infection and put in place robust control measures to safeguard public health.

Work is still continuing behind the scenes by the health care scientists in epidemiology and microbiology to try and identify the source of the infection.

The outbreak caused the closure of three nurseries in Haddington and two nurseries in Musselburgh. 

Church Street Pear Tree Nursery in Haddington was originally closed on August 2 after a number of children fell ill and went on to test positive for E-Coli O157.

The sister nursery Meadowpark Pear Tree Nursery was closed on August 12 as a precaution when sickness symptoms were reported before E.coli O157 went on to be confirmed on August 18. Musselburgh Private Nursery on Bridge Street was then shut on August 19.

West Road Pear Tree Nursery in Haddington and Musselburgh Private Nursery, Stoneybank, were both closed as a precaution following sickness symptoms. The infection was not confirmed at West Road Pear Tree Nursery.

All staff and pupils of all the nurseries apart from West Road Pear Tree were formally excluded under the Public Health Act. 

Dr Josie Murray, Consultant in Public Health Medicine and Chair of the multi-agency Incident Management Team (IMT), said: “We are really encouraged to see all of the nurseries open their doors once again and welcome back their staff and pupils.

“We know it has been a really difficult time for everyone involved, especially in accepting some of the control measures which were vital in containing the infection and stopping its spread within the community.

 “On behalf of the IMT, I would like to thank everyone for working with us throughout this rapidly evolving and complex outbreak.”

Letters providing the most up to date information have been issued to families directly in some circumstances and via the nurseries distribution systems.

The complex outbreak has evolved rapidly and a set of FAQs were developed to help answer questions from concerned families and carers and can be found on NHS Lothian’s website.

If families have incurred financial losses due to the public health control measures for the E-Coli outbreak, they are entitled to submit a claim for compensation and details are contained in the exclusion letters. 

The Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland would like to express our deep sadness at the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. 

Our thoughts and condolences are with the Royal Family.

The UK Government has announced that regular asymptomatic testing for COVID-19 in all remaining settings in England will be paused from 31 August, as COVID-19 cases continue to fall. The settings include NHS and care homes.

Free testing for the public ended on 1 April as part of the government’s Living with COVID plan, but asymptomatic testing continued to be used in some settings during periods of high case rates.

Settings where asymptomatic testing of staff and patients or residents will be paused include:

• the NHS (including independent healthcare providers treating NHS patients)
• adult social care and hospice services (apart from new admissions)
• parts of the prison estate and some places of detention
• certain domestic abuse refuges and homelessness settings

The UK Government has said that testing will remain in place for admissions into care homes and hospices from both hospitals and the community, and for transfers for immunocompromised patients into and within hospital to protect those who are most vulnerable.

Testing will also be available for outbreaks in certain high-risk settings such as care homes.

Year-round symptomatic testing will continue to be provided in some settings, including:

• NHS patients who require testing as part of established clinical pathways or those eligible for COVID-19 treatments
• NHS staff and staff in NHS-funded independent healthcare provision
• staff in adult social care services and hospices and residents of care homes, extra care and supported living settings and hospices
• staff and detainees in prisons
• staff and service users of certain domestic abuse refuges and homelessness services

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are encouraging homeowners to get gas checks to keep homes safe.

​Recent domestic gas incidents have attracted significant media coverage. HSE is reassuring people they need to be careful but not unduly concerned. ​

​Gas incidents can be devastating but remain extremely rare. There were 25 gas related fire and explosion incidents reported in 2020/2021, despite there being over 22 million households using gas across the country.  ​

​HSE recommends homeowners get all gas appliances (boilers, cookers, and fires), flues, and pipework regularly maintained and serviced every year by a qualified engineer listed on the Gas Safe Register. ​

​The Gas Safe Register is the official list of gas businesses which are registered to work safely and legally on boilers, cookers, fires and all other gas appliances. By law, anyone working with gas in domestic or commercial premises must be listed on the register. Gas Safe registered businesses can be found on their website.  ​

​Getting household gas appliances and pipes checked in summer can ensure your home is safe while also helping to keep bills lower in winter. ​

​That’s the message from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) who are encouraging people to get gas checks now before the weather turns colder later in the year and households use more gas. ​

​Gas appliances should be regularly checked to prevent gas leaks and stop carbon monoxide being released. Regular servicing can also help gas appliances run more efficiently and in turn save money on household bills.​

​Help is available for those struggling to pay for checks.  In some circumstances, suppliers can offer free gas safety checks through the Priority Services Register. For further advice and information homeowners can contact their gas supplier (the company they pay their bills to).​

​John Rowe, HSE policy lead for gas safety, said: “Gas is an incredibly safe way of fuelling your house. Serious incidents are still extremely rare, although of course for those involved they can be devastating.​  ​

​“We should all be careful and not unduly concerned about using gas in our homes. We’re encouraging householders to get a gas check. Doing so could save them money in the long run but will also keep them safe. The summer months are perfect time to get your appliances checked so come winter you know they are working safely and efficiently.”​​

​For more information on gas health and safety visit HSE’s website.​​

Scientific analysis on a number of CBD  (Cannabidiol) products has found that the majority of those tested contained illegal drugs. The testing has been carried out on behalf of several local authorities by Kent Scientific Services, the Official Control Laboratory operated by Kent County Council.

At the same time, several products were found to contain hardly any CBD element at all.

CBD is classed as a novel food and is currently being assessed for safety by the Food Standards Agency. The FSA has allowed about 6,000 products to be marketed in the UK, pending final approval. If the product is on the list, it can be sold; if it is not on the list, it cannot.

KSS Public Analyst Jon Griffin who led the testing said: “CBD is the non-psychoactive element of cannabis. It is suggested it can have benefits including reduced anxiety, assisting with sleep and managing pain. On its own CBD is not an illegal controlled drug.”

The results of testing on the first 61 products for various interested bodies have shown that:

• 44 samples contained one or more of the psychoactive elements of cannabis. These are controlled drugs and therefore are illegal
• Several contained significantly less CBD than claimed on the pack. Up to 99% deficient.
• 2 did not claim to contain any CBD but did. Neither of these contain any controlled drugs
• 2 contained products which are not on the FSA list.

So, in total, of the 61 samples, 72% contain one or more of these psychoactive elements of cannabis.

Mark Rolfe, the Head of KSS, said: “The issue with this, in my view, is that people don’t know what they are consuming. We have tested one sample for a member of the public who has failed a workplace drugs test having, he says, never touched drugs in his life. He has, however, consumed this product which we have found to contain the drug for which he failed the test.”

The kind of products involved, he said, are wide ranging. Some are foods (and thus covered by the FSA list) and cosmetics and some vapes. Neither of the latter two types are covered by the FSA list.

Examples of the products are:

• Cola chunks
• Marmalade
• CBD oil
• Gummy bears
• Cookies
• Lollypops
• CBD drinks
• Vapes of various flavours including lemon drizzle, watermelon and raspberry
• Muscle balm
• Beard oil

Research by the trade union Unite has highlighted a significant decline in the number of ‘proactive’ inspections that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has made in the construction sector since 2013/14.

HSE’s unannounced inspections of construction sites have fallen by 31% over the past eight years, according to Freedom of Information (FOI) data obtained by the Unite trade union.

Unite has highlighted the figures because it says that construction remains one of the most hazardous sectors in Great Britain and points to the latest HSE statistics , which show that 30 construction workers died in the workplace in 2021/2022. 

The Union discovered that the HSE undertook 11,303 unannounced inspections in 2013/14 but that number dropped to 7,793 in 2021/22. 

The data gleaned showed that the biggest regional decline was in Wales where inspections had dropped by 57%, Unite said. After Wales, southeast England (51%) and London (46%) saw the biggest drops.  

Unite said that it also found the HSE had significantly reduced the number of enforcement notices that it had issued to employers to improve safety conditions after an on-site inspection. The union said that the number had declined from 2,293 in 2013/14 to 1,119 in 2021/22. 

‘The HSE must explain and justify the sharp decline in construction inspections,’ said Unite’s national officer for construction Jason Poulter. 

‘For too many employers, it is only the fear of being caught which ensures they follow safety laws.’

A HSE spokesperson said: “The number of inspections we carried out while COVID restrictions were in place was inevitably lower. The number has increased significantly in the last year, focused on sites with the highest risk to workers. Inspections are only one part of what we do to keep workers safe.”

They added that, during the pandemic, the HSE carried out over 400,000 COVID safety spot checks, across all workplaces, to reduce the risk posed by COVID-19 transmission. They said: “During the spot checks, HSE provided advice and guidance to manage risk and protect workers, customers and visitors, but where some businesses were not managing this, HSE would take immediate action.

“This could range from the provision of giving specific advice, issuing enforcement notices, stopping certain work practices until they were made safe and, where businesses failed to comply, it could lead to prosecution.” 

Scotland’s deposit return scheme will go live for consumers in one year’s time (16 August 2023), giving businesses and consumers an easy way to boost recycling.

The scheme, which will be the first in the UK, will play an important part in Scotland’s journey to a circular economy. Estimates by Zero Waste Scotland suggest that the scheme will reduce emissions by an average of nearly 160,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year – the equivalent of 109,000 return flights from Edinburgh to New York.

The 20p deposit will also provide an incentive to reduce littering, helping to cut the number of bottles and cans discarded in streets and green spaces.

The scheme is being delivered by Circularity Scotland Ltd., an industry-led body representing drinks producers, retailers and trade bodies of all sizes. This business-led approach is common among many of the most successful schemes in Europe, include Denmark, Finland, and The Netherlands.

Infrastructure for the scheme is now beginning to be rolled out across Scotland, and businesses of all sizes are being encouraged to act now to make sure they are ready for the scheme launching this time next year.  

Businesses who make, import or sell drinks in Scotland may have legal responsibilities under the scheme. For drinks producers and importers this includes registering to be part of the scheme – they won’t be able to sell their products in Scotland unless they have registered. For retailers, wholesalers and hospitality businesses, this means making sure any drinks they sell in Scotland are from a registered producer and charging the deposit on each drink. They may also have to operate a return point or offer a takeback service, collecting empty containers for recycling and return deposits to consumers

Businesses can register with Circularity Scotland, to make sure they receive information that will help them prepare.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), who are the regulator for the scheme, has also launched a campaign that will help businesses understand their legal responsibilities and the steps they need to take to prepare. SEPA is responsible for the producer registration service, which opens in January 2023. Producers will need to either register directly with SEPA or through the scheme administrator, Circularity Scotland. SEPA will also carry out audits, inspections, and enforcement activity, ensuring the scheme is a success.

Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater said:

“Scotland is leading the way in the UK on delivering a circular economy. By putting in place a deposit return scheme, we are delivering on the public’s desire to see action on plastic and other waste, and making an important contribution to the response to the climate emergency.

“With thousands of return points across the country, it will be as easy to return your empty bottle or can as it was to buy it in the first place. This will help to nearly double recycling rates for the containers included in the scheme, while reducing the amount of litter on our streets and cutting CO2 emissions.

“This scheme is being delivered by industry for industry. By putting businesses in charge, we are making sure that it works for them. With one year to go until the scheme goes live for consumers, I would encourage all businesses and organisations that produce, ship or sell drinks to get involved with the scheme now.”

Two new UK research papers explain the likely causes of sudden onset hepatitis seen in children aged 10 and under, is due to co-infection with adenovirus 41F and a second virus AAV2 (or less commonly HHV6).

The two investigations, one led in Scotland by the University of Glasgow, the Medical Research Council, Centre for Virology Research, and supported by Public Health Scotland, and the second led by Great Ormond Street Hospital were published on 25 July 2022. The extensive investigations explored various factors which could have acted as a trigger for the illness, including an infectious cause, exposure to environmental toxins, and genetic factors.

Cases were initially reported in April 2022 and as of 25 July 2022, the total number of cases identified in Scotland was 38. No new cases were identified in Scotland between 13 June 2022 and 25 July 2022.

The Scottish research identified an additional genetic factor which may explain why some children developed severe illness whilst others did not. The investigation noted the presence of a marker showing a genetic predisposition in cases of severe disease but found this marker much less commonly in the general population.

Explaining why only some children go on to develop hepatitis, Dr Jim McMenamin, Head of Health Protection, Consultant Epidemiologist, Public Health Scotland said:

“These findings are important. They appear to explain why not all young children with adenovirus infection develop severe disease. Importantly, children need to have a co-infection with an additional second virus that can affect the liver and also have a specific genetic make-up before they go on to develop severe disease.

“Whilst its reassuring that cases have now fallen, we continue to remind parents and care-givers that they should continue to ensure children practice good hand and respiratory hygiene to help reduce the spread of common infections, like adenoviruses.

“If a child shows signs of jaundice, where there is a yellow tinge in the whites of the eyes or on the skin, then parents should contact their GP or other Health Care professional.”

Read the Glasgow study here.

Read the London study here.

NHS Lothian has joined forces with local and national partner agencies to investigate a cluster of cases of E.coli linked to Church Street Pear Tree Nursery in Haddington.

The number of confirmed cases stands at 28. Most cases have had mild symptoms and have not required hospital treatment. However, a small number of confirmed cases were admitted to hospital but all have now returned home. 

Investigations so far have not yet revealed a specific source, but advanced microbiological testing is underway to identify the strain of the infection and any links. Those that have been affected have already been excluded and have submitted samples for testing.

As cases have been confined to Church Street Pear Tree Nursery, respective households, or other close contacts, it has closed as a precautionary measure while the investigations continue. The multi-agency Incident Management Team (IMT) will continue to work closely with the nursery to ensure it is safe for children to return.

The IMT is also now working with two other sister nurseries in the same town after a number of people reported symptoms of vomiting and diarrhoea. Both Meadowpark Pear Tree Nursery and West Road Pear Tree Nursery in Haddington are now closed as a precautionary measure.

Dr Richard Othieno, Chair of the Incident Management Team and Public Health Consultant, NHS Lothian, said: “We know that this will be an anxious time for many of those who are directly affected by the infection. We have written to parents and carers of the children affected and to staff at the nursery to provide the most up to date information and ongoing health advice.

“NHS Lothian has a robust surveillance system in place to identify E. coli cases which helped us to identify these cases early and put in place essential control measures to prevent further spread.

“This outbreak reinforces the importance of washing hands regularly, particularly before eating or preparing food, and after going to the toilet.”

“We continue to provide support to the nursery and those parents and carers who have been directly affected. We have encouraged parents to keep their children away from other children and those at higher risk until their negative results have been received”.

Edinburgh will become Scotland’s first designated Short-Term Let Control Area after the Scottish Government approved the City of Edinburgh Council’s proposed change to planning requirements.

The control area is intended to help maintain the availability of long-term residential housing in Edinburgh. The measure is also to preserve the character of neighbourhoods, prevent short-term lets in inappropriate places or types of building, and help ensure homes are used to their best effect.

The control area covers the entire City of Edinburgh Council area. Where changing the use of an entire residential home in the control area to short-term letting will automatically require planning permission, unless the exceptions set out in legislation apply.

From 1 October 2022 new hosts must obtain a licence from their local authority before they operate as a short-term let. Existing hosts have until 1 April 2023 to make an application for a licence, and can continue operating whilst their licensing application is being determined.

Where the change of a dwellinghouse to a short-term let took place before the designation of the control area the existing planning rules will apply. These require planning permission for a change of use of property where that change is a material change in the use of the property.

Housing Secretary Shona Robison said:

“Edinburgh was the first local authority in Scotland to propose a Short-Term Let Control Area and Scottish Government approval represents a major step forward. We have committed to give local authorities the powers to address concerns about the impact of commercial short-term letting in their communities, should they want to do that. This is an example of that local choice in action – supported by the majority of respondents to the council’s consultation on the proposed designation.

“I recognise the important role which short-term lets play as a source of flexible and responsive accommodation for tourists and workers, which brings many benefits to hosts, visitors and our economy. However, we know that in certain areas, particularly tourist hot spots, high numbers of lets can cause problems for neighbours and make it harder for people to find homes to live in.

“The Scottish Government considers that the council has adequately considered and responded to concerns raised before seeking approval of the control area designation. We have concluded that the proposed designation would be reasonable.”

City of Edinburgh Council Leader Cammy Day said:

“This is the news we have been waiting for after leading the way in campaigning for change. I am delighted that Ministers have answered our calls and we look forward to reviewing the full details included in the decision released today.

“It paves the way for Edinburgh becoming the first short-term let control area in Scotland. For far too long, too many homes have been lost in our city to the holiday market. In fact, around a third of all short term lets in Scotland are here in the Capital, so their associated issues of safety, anti-social behaviour and noise have a detrimental effect on many of our residents. We will now progress implementing the changes and the next step should be looking at whether we can apply a cap on numbers, too.”

Discretionary powers enabling local authorities to designate short-term let control areas came into effect in 2021. Separate legislation introducing a mandatory licensing scheme for all short-term lets in Scotland was approved earlier this year.

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@

The REHIS website has been given a new look which we hope you like. If you do have any issues please contact us.

Please note that our events are under the heading “Professional Development and Events”.