Role and Impact of Environment Health Officers in UK Case Study

Career Prospects and Skills for Public Health Professionals

Introduction

Transformation in the life habits of people in the UK is essential as the region holds maximum count of diabetic and overweight patients as per statistics from (PHE, 2022). Health officials understand the need for sport and physical activity as part of an active lifestyle. Thus emphasis is made to impart professional coaching right from the primary level. The task of public health officer is crucial as they are first to identify and carry out inspections for any complaints regarding to food compliance. Their role is to provide correct guidance that contributes to the development of skills. A career as a Environment Health Officer has thus scaled in the recent period, especially in developed nations. Technology has significantly impacted the way food inspection process and now reports are much accurate and fast generated. This essay discusses the job profile, duties, qualification requirements, and knowledge of soft and hard skills of Environment Health Officer (EHO) in the UK. The paper further discusses promotion opportunities and health development practices offered.

Main Findings

EHO requires compliance with the environment to carry out routine inspections in accordance as per the guidelines from PHE. The need for environment health practitioners was determined during Covid19, in which during 2020 recorded count of 3360 fulltime practitioners where deployed in district level to deliver EH services (Cieh, 2021). The primary count of about 7600 practitioners is working with local authorities to investigate food poisoning outbreaks and entail information about new diseases. EH practitioners need detailed to health and food nutrition as their role is to collect evidence in accordance with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, they have to prepare reports and statements and whenever needed represent evidence in court regarding food, health and safety. Importance of public health officers is evident from the fact that they are responsible for regular monitoring and checking of food and water quality in the region. Reports generated from them helps the health administrations to prepare food and health strategies for the people in the UK.

The government of the UK has made special considerations to impart health and fitness guidelines for people living in the concern as concern to reports of type-2 diabetes and overweight issues found increasing (PHE, 2022). EHP in the food and health nutrition contributes maximum count followed by private sector housing and environmental protection. Separate functions are design to deliver health and safety reports distinctively to local authorities. For instance, a person dealing in health and food nutrition is subjected to deal especially with food quality related reports. They are responsible to examine and prepare reports on food and nutrition subjects in the area selected for monitoring. An environment health professional helps in educating people of the society to right eating habits. They often seen to work with NGOs for monitoring and inspection of public health in a region, the reports obtained are reviewed by Environment Health and Safety Officers which then finalise the final report based on which new health plans are designed (EHS).

The government is even working on designs to structure framework for imparting awareness in the public health sector. However, there are certain implications inspected in the process. As per the reports in CIEH workforce survey report 2021, most of the local authorities rely agencies for health staff as there is shortage of resources and the recruitment process is found delayed (Cieh, 2021). Local authorities admit use of agency specialists as unprecedented demand in the field is usual, further there is lack of specialist knowledge in the field as per requirement. Scarcity in the field of Environment health officers was observed during Covid19 period where much of the deployment took place in the time to monitor covid19 related policies and procedures (Painter et al. 2020).

As per Edwards et al. (2019), introduction of workshops in which guidance from experts in the field is required to help health officers performing operations in the field. The psychodynamic theory by Sigmund Freud is useful to evaluate the implications of mishandling in primary training can brought to the personal development of health practitioners.

Roles and responsibilities

The task of environment health officer is to carry out routine inspections as per regulatory guidelines to ensure compliance in the food, health and safety of local people residing in the country. It is the duty of health officers to carry out inspection in case of any complaints received concerning work related to public health practitioners (Somersetwestandtaunton, 2022). The officers need to immediately inform regarding any implications present with food quality or disease outbreaks in an area to local authorities. To perform such inspections they need to perform routine monitoring and sampling of food and water services in the region. Inspection level includes any food ready or packaged available in stores and restaurants that are offered for public consumption. They are responsible for the reports produced & escalated to higher departments with expectations of delivering optimal solution to the issues formed. The main task of public health officers is thus to resolve health, food and safety related complications in ground level while maintaining the guidelines as prescribed by PHE. Proper documentation is essential for environment health officers as based on their reports charges of unethical actions and criminal behaviour can be formed against the victim. They are responsible to provide training to local health practitioners in the section. To environment health officers usually need to gain specialist knowledge in one the fields to lead the public health team to carry out tasks such as surveys related to National Hygiene, Health and Safety and count of health operations performed in a region. It is crucial that they maintain proper relation with council members and actively participate in project group meetings. To administer and carry out inspection works properly it is crucial that they follow high professional standards throughout. It is further crucial that EH practitioners are up-to-date with legal, professional and technical knowledge in the field of environmental health. The demand for technical sound people in the field has risen as most of the older staffs are not acquainted while handling modern tools through which accurate and fast results are obtained. As an Environment Health Officer it is crucial that the person displays organisational and personal development in their working (Somersetwestandtaunton, 2022). As there is related to public health and safety it is asked to perform tasks while maintaining equality while following health & safety legislations.

Requirements and qualifications

To become Environment Health officer it is essential that a person is having qualifications equivalent to 5 GCSE including maths and English. The person needs to hold a proper degree in environmental health registered under the environment health officer’s registration board. The person needs to have training, qualification or experience of working in line with CIEH with adequate knowledge in food law code practices. A person gets additional advantage holding post graduate degree in the relevant subject.

Soft skills and hard skills

Training and development

The task of Environment Health officers is not limited to inspection and reporting of food and nutrition safety in a region and thus regular training and development is required to grow in the field. EH officers need to participate health and safety practices organised by local authorities. Proper updates in the legal and health practices guidelines as per CIEH and PHE is essential to follow. It is crucial that they take active interest to online health inspection practices conducted by PHE.

Career opportunities in the field

A person properly conduction its operations and delivering outputs as desired can be promoted as Public Health Manager. Career opportunity in the field is high as government understood the gap present in public health inspections right after the Covid19 (Scally et al. (2020). As per CIEH report 2022, 56% of the local authorities report vacant positions and need for environment health officers. The reports further discloses that around 375 positions are left unfilled for over 6 months and the top reasons for the vacancies are lack of available and qualified professionals that can fit into the position of EH practitioners. Opportunity in the sector is high as new applications can renew services that have been stopped for past few years such as discretionary activities such as providing guidance to businesses and local public bodies (Geisler et al. 2019). Demand in the field is further expected and government has increased its funding to improve health facilities and reporting in the UK under new budget. Scopes for new professionals is higher as they come with proper knowledge and experience of handling new tools required to perform tasks as per PHE guidelines.

Job Profile

The main task of health officers is to ensure that public health is properly supervised and correct inputs are given all the time. They support the ideals and policies of the PHE and ensure that similar practices related to food and health safety is performed in the area of inspection. It is crucial to have profound knowledge about the curriculums in the specific area for which the person is assigned. It is the duty of the officer to perform assigned tasks by the local authorities. Such as maintain records of work covered and proper reporting of each areas progress while identifying areas where support is needed. Often it is misunderstood that health officers have limited functionalities. Excessive pressure and multitasking job functions led to stress (Blake et al. 2020).

 EH officers need to be well informed about the new developments and methods in the working field. It is the task of officers to find that the applied method is appropriate and aligns with health policies. EH officers act as a bridge between public and administrative bodies. Proper communication of health related work and development is essential to report is essential as based on the reports future budgets on health is decided.

Conclusion

From the essay it has become evident that proper knowledge in the subject is crucial for imparting health work investigations. EH task process has transformed in the last few years with the advancement of technology. From the paper it has become easier to understand the legal and technical knowledge in handling investigations related to food and nutrition is essential for food inspectors when conducting operations. They have to prepare reports and collect statements based on which health reports in certain region in the UK gets completed. The demand for EHP is gaining as concerns over rising count of diabetic and overweight natives have increased in the region. Further as scarcity of Environmental Health officers is reported by local authorities for which delay in health reports is experienced. The paper further entails as there is shortage of experienced and qualified professionals in the sector for which some of the tasks have stopped. Apart from that local authority takes help from private agencies due to limitations of resources or limited knowledge in handling new tools. Through the paper it is further understood that degree in Health and environment is essential to work in the field and a person need to gain knowledge in specific field to become expert and handle medical team. Postgraduate in specific field with GCSE grades is mandatory. It is crucial for EH officers to be well informed about the new development and methods in the work field.

References

Blake, H., Bermingham, F., Johnson, G. and Tabner, A., (2020). Mitigating the psychological impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers: a digital learning package. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(9), p.2997.

Cieh, (2021). Environment Health workforce survey report: local authorities in England. Available at: https://www.cieh.org/media/5249/cieh-workforce-survey-report-for-england.pdf [Accessed on: 23.03.2023]

Geisler, M., Berthelsen, H. and Muhonen, T., (2019). Retaining social workers: The role of quality of work and psychosocial safety climate for work engagement, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership & Governance, 43(1), pp.1-15.

Holmes, L., Cresswell, K., Williams, S., Parsons, S., Keane, A., Wilson, C., Islam, S., Joseph, O., Miah, J., Robinson, E. and Starling, B., (2019). Innovating public engagement and patient involvement through strategic collaboration and practice. Research involvement and engagement, 5, pp.1-12.

Painter, J., Brennen, J.S. and Kristiansen, S., (2020). The coverage of cultured meat in the US and UK traditional media, 2013–2019: drivers, sources, and competing narratives. Climatic Change, 162, pp.2379-2396.

PHE, (2022). Adult Obesity and type 2 diabetes. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/338934/Adult_obesity_and_type_2_diabetes_.pdf [Accessed on: 23.03.2023]

Scally, G., Jacobson, B. and Abbasi, K., (2020). The UK’s public health response to covid-19. Bmj, 369.

Somersetwestandtaunton, (2022). Job description and person specification. Available at: https://www.somersetwestandtaunton.gov.uk/media/3077/environmental-health-officer-public-health-h-jd-dec-2021.pdf [Accessed on: 23.03.2023]