REHIS News

Funding of £4.5 million has been awarded to Aberdeen City Council for the introduction of 10 new hydrogen buses, taking the city’s hydrogen-powered bus fleet total to 25.

The money comes from the £62 million Energy Transition Fund which was set up to help ensure a green recovery from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and support the energy sector’s transition to a net-zero economy.

With a focus on the North East, the fund underpins the region’s ambitions to become a world leader in the transition to net zero, creating green jobs and growing the local economy.

Food production and processing businesses are being urged to sign up for routine staff testing to help identify cases of coronavirus (COVID-19), keep workforces safe and break chains of transmission.

Free lateral flow antigen test kits are available to eligible businesses which are essential to maintaining an adequate supply of food for the nation, and where outbreak risks can be higher due to the working environment such as abattoirs, meat and seafood processing facilities and dairies, as well as food distribution businesses.

Since REHIS introduced temporary regulations last March allowing courses to be delivered virtually many REHIS Approved Training Centres have risen to the challenge and offered virtual training via platforms such as Zoom and MS Teams. Many course presenters have done a fantastic job of adapting their training methods and course materials and made the transition to remote learning for many REHIS courses.

Food Standards Scotland have updated its guidance for food business operators (FBOs) and their employees on 15 March.

 A summary of the changes in the update are as follows:

Lorna Ross, Food & Safety Support Officer at Aberdeenshire Council discusses how taking the plunge to online learning has resulted in a positive change and how learning in person may be a thing of the past. 

1. Describe you work before the pandemic? 

The Environmental Health Manifesto for Scotland explains what Environmental Health is, its importance to the continued protection of Scotland’s public health both now and in the future and describes how Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) and the wider environmental health workforce can help policy makers achieve their objectives. It also sets out four challenges facing the profession and the wider Scottish public. 

This Wednesday, 10 March is No Smoking Day.  ASH Scotland is celebrating the day by encouraging people to quit smoking by sharing the stories of people who have successfully stopped smoking during lockdown. 

Asymptomatic testing sites are being rolled out across the country following successfully trial in Johnstone in December.

Community testing in areas with high coronavirus (COVID-19) prevalence are a way of identifying positive cases in communities and breaking chains of transmission.

The sites are being delivered by Local Authorities in partnership with NHS Boards and are being funded by the Scottish Government. Environmental Health departments within Local Authorities have had large amount on input to the delivery of these sites. 

Scotland's Chief Statistician has published Scotland’s Carbon Footprint: 1998-2017. This publication provides estimates of Scotland’s greenhouse gas emissions on a consumption basis; that is emissions that are associated with the spending of Scottish residents on goods and services, wherever in the world these emissions arise, together with emissions directly generated by Scottish households.

Key points:

Access to testing to find cases and interrupt transmission already taking place in Scotland is being stepped up.

Routine testing of healthcare workers has been expanded to cover patient-facing primary care workers such as GPs, dentists, optometrists and pharmacists, as well as testing for all patient-facing staff who work in hospices.