Environmental Health - What do they do?

An Environmental Health Team in a Scottish local authority plays a crucial role in protecting and improving public health and well-being within their communities. Their responsibilities are broad and cover a wide range of environmental factors that can affect health.

Here's a breakdown of what they typically do:

Core Areas of Work:

• Food Safety and Standards:
  • Inspecting food businesses (restaurants, takeaways, shops, manufacturers) to ensure compliance with hygiene and safety regulations.
  • Investigating food poisoning outbreaks and food complaints.
  • Carrying out food sampling and surveillance.
  • Registering food businesses and issuing certificates of compliance.
  • Providing advice and education to food businesses and the public.
• Occupational Health and Safety:
  • Enforcing health and safety legislation in a variety of workplaces (generally those not regulated by the Health and Safety Executive, e.g., offices, shops, hotels, care homes).
  • Investigating workplace accidents and complaints.
  • Advising businesses on health and safety requirements, including risk assessments and welfare facilities.
• Environmental Protection and Pollution Control:
  • Investigating and resolving statutory nuisances such as noise (e.g., from neighbours, businesses), odour, smoke, dust, and excessive waste.
  • Monitoring air quality and implementing management plans.
  • Dealing with contaminated land issues.
  • Addressing issues related to private water supplies.
• Housing Standards:
  • Inspecting private rented properties to ensure they meet the "tolerable standard" and are safe and healthy for occupants.
  • Investigating complaints about disrepair or unsafe conditions in homes.
  • Licensing Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) to ensure they meet specific safety and amenity standards.
  • Taking enforcement action against landlords who fail to address serious issues, including serving abatement notices.
• Public Health:
  • Investigating outbreaks of infectious diseases.
  • Controlling pests and infestations.
  • Regulating activities that can impact public health, such as tattooing and sunbed parlours.
  • Enforcing smoking legislation in public places and cars.
  • Dealing with animal welfare issues, particularly related to farmed animals, and dog control.
  • Contributing to community safety priorities.
• Waste Management:
  • Addressing issues related to waste disposal that could pose a public health risk.

General Duties and Approaches:

• Inspections and Investigations: Conducting proactive inspections and reacting to complaints, incidents, and accidents.
• Enforcement: Interpreting and enforcing a wide range of legislation, codes of practice, and guidance. This can involve providing advice, issuing informal warnings, serving statutory notices, and, in some cases, preparing reports for the Procurator Fiscal and attending court to provide evidence.
• Advisory and Educational Role: Providing advice and guidance to businesses, householders, and community groups to help them understand and comply with environmental health laws and best practices.
• Sampling and Monitoring: Collecting samples (e.g., food, water, air) for laboratory testing.
• Record Keeping and Reporting: Maintaining detailed records and preparing various reports for internal and external bodies.
• Partnership Working: Collaborating with other council departments, public health agencies (like Public Health Scotland and Food Standards Scotland), the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).
• Emergency Response: Participating in out-of-hours rotas to respond to environmental health emergencies.

In essence, Environmental Health Teams in Scottish local authorities are the frontline defenders of public health, working to create safe, healthy, and hygienic environments for everyone.