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The summit, held at Dunkeld on Wednesday 28 March 2007, organised by the Institute and hosted by the Food Standards Agency Scotland, was convened to facilitate an open discussion between partners, stakeholders and interested groups with a view to drafting a strategy, vision and action plan for future public/environmental health enforcement in Scotland.
Representatives from REHIS, the Agency,the Local Authority Unit of the Health and Safety Executive, the Scottish Executive, the Society of Chief Officers of Environmental Health, the University of Strathclyde, Health Protection Scotland and from a cross section of the Profession (public and private sectors) attended this fully participative and inter-active event. Unfortunately, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the University of Derby were not represented.
An action plan was agreed and fuller reports will follow on this website and in Environmental Health Scotland, the Journal of the Institute.

The Scottish Prison Service has made a huge financial investment at its HMP Edinburgh facility with the construction of a new production kitchen and a new training kitchen. Along with many other Scottish Prisons, HMP Edinburgh is an Approved Training Centre delivering REHIS courses on a regular basis for inmates and prison catering staff.
Following a recent tour of the training kitchen, Tom Bell, Chief Executive and Graham Walker, Director of Training took the opportunity to present Frank Greig, a successful course participant, with his REHIS Elementary Food Hygiene Certificate. Possession of this industry recognised qualification provides participants with the knowledge to help them to handle food safely and presents holders with an advantage when seeking employment in the catering and hospitality industry.
REHIS welcomes the investment in food safety training at HMP Edinburgh and is wholly supportive of the endeavours of the Governor and staff involved.

Pictured with Tom Bell and Frank Greig (seated) are, left to right, Dr Andrew Fraser(Head of Health and Care, Scottish Prison Service), John Buchan(Catering Manager),Graham Walker and Dan Gunn(Prison Governor).

Last week we were pleased to welcome the 15th Annual Public Health Forum to Edinburgh. This event, organised by the UK Public Health Association, is the largest multi-disciplinary Public Health conference in the UK. The conference allows public health professionals from a wide variety of backgrounds to come together, share experience and learn from each other. Key conference themes were health inequalities, sustainable development, anti-health forces and locally decided issues, such as public health economics.
REHIS was delighted to assist with the lunchtime drop-in surgeries on the UK Voluntary Register for Public Health Specialists. Pictured at the event are Val Cameron, Director of Professional Development and Evonne Tennant, REHIS council member with responsibility for public health matters.

Smoking Still Kills – The Scottish Coalition is dedicated to tobacco control and presents this manifesto outlining the next steps Scotland needs to take to reduce the harm caused by smoking.
REHIS is an active member of the coalition.

Seventy-five Environmental Health professionals, from thirty one local authorities across Scotland, came together in Edinburgh for a training seminar on the new skin piercing legislation.The seminar was organised in partnership with Health Protection Scotland and the Scottish Executive Health Department.Delegates gained an update on the amended legislation and a practical insight into skin piercing from representatives from the body piercing, tattooing and sterilisation industry.

Over 60 delegates from local authorities, Scottish Water, Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Scottish Executive and Private Finance Initiative (PFI) operators attended the Odour Improvement Plan Training Seminar in Stirling last week.
This event, held in partnership with the Scottish Odour Steering Group, updated delegates on the current legal requirements regarding odour from waste water treatment works and the future developments in this field. The afternoon workshops allowed delegates to assess and discuss a variety of sample Odour Improvement Plans.

A further event, providing an overview of the Sewerage Nuisance Statutory Code of Practice, will be held by the REHIS Southern Centre on 26 March in Glasgow. This lunchtime seminar is aimed at members who wish to keep up-to-date with developments in environmental health.
See events page for more details on this event.

The annual REHIS Law Enforcement Course was presented last weekend at the Police College, Tulliallan.
Forty-three professionals from different backgrounds, including Environmental Health Officers, Technical Officers, Trading Standards Officers, Fish Health Inspectors and Fire Safety Managers attended this residential event.
This intensive course, for officers in specialist agencies involved in law enforcement, aims to provide the basic knowledge required by an enforcement officer to use best practice in reporting offences within the Scottish Legal System. The course culminated on Sunday in the court room, with the delegates participating in a mock trial with an actual Procurator Fiscal and defence lawyer.

At the March meeting of the REHIS Council it was agreed that all CPD scheme participants who are EHOs will, as from 2008, be required to submit corroborative evidence of CPD activities along with their record cards. CPD record cards can be downloaded from the members area of the REHIS website and are also available from the REHIS office. EHO members requiring further information should contact Val Cameron or Jennifer Watkins at the REHIS office.

Donations in lieu of gifts to speakers and chairmen and proceeds from a raffle at the REHIS Annual Conference Dinner have raised the sum of £615 for the Scotland Chikwawa (Malawi) Health Initiative. The money raised will be used to fund food hygiene training in the Chikwawa region in southern Malawi.
Bernard Forteath, President of REHIS, sends his thanks to all the speakers, chairmen, delegates and staff who contributed to the donation.
Anyone wishing to know more about the Scotland Chikwawa (Malawi) Health Initiative, which was established last year in association with the University of Strathclyde’s Malawi Millennium Project, should contact Tom Bell, Chief Executive, at the REHIS office.

The Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland(REHIS) has expressed confidence in its members’ role in dealing with any threat of illness pandemics,chemical and biological attacks.

REHIS is delighted to announce the launch of a new feature on its homepage.

The first new feature is the addition of the ‘job vacancies – opportunities in environmental health’ portal on the homepage. This feature will allow access to current vacancies in the Scottish environmental health community.

Further developments are imminent – watch this space!

REHIS is a member of The Scottish Parliament Cross Party Group on Food and was represented by Graham Walker, Director of Training, at the latest meeting which was held in the Parliament on 7 February.
The main item on the Agenda was Theme 1 of the Scottish Diet Action Plan Review.
In support of this item five short presentations were given including one by Professor Tim Lang who chaired the Review Panel.

Members will be aware that the REHIS Elementary Food and Health Course was developed following the implementation of Hungry for Success, an initiative that is part of the Scottish Diet Action Plan and was a consultee of NHS Health Scotland during the review.

A summary of the review is attached.