Visiting our members at Knowsley

Visiting Knowsley Council’s environmental health team and shadowing the team on many of their inspections has brought me closer to the day to day lives of environmental health professionals and will unequivocally enhance the policy, campaigns and public affairs work I carry out on behalf of our members.

Arriving at Knowsley

In May, I was fortunate to visit Knowsley Council's environmental health team to shadow the work of our members and their colleagues. I was delighted to be given the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of the diverse and crucial work Environmental Health Officers do on a daily basis and will use this experience to enhance the work I undertake on behalf of our members.

Upon joining CIEH in February as Policy Officer, I was keen to meet our members face-to-face and to see a day in the life of an environmental health professional. Upon meeting Adam Bucior and Jennifer Nugent on our Advisory Panels, I became aware that this opportunity was available close to where I live, so I decided to reach out to them to see if they minded having me tag along. Luckily for me, they said yes!

Following a warm welcome from the entire environmental health team at Knowsley, I was introduced to the huge variety of areas that fall under their responsibility.

My experience

Having the opportunity to shadow a food standards inspection allowed me to engage with members on the specific logistics and requirements of completing these inspections; witnessing first hand the crucial personable and professional skills that are essential to environmental health professionals. Most notably, I was able to discuss the public health impacts of food safety inspections and the importance of regulation and enforcement in keeping the public safe.

During my visits, I was also able to shadow a health and safety inspection, a fly tipping report, a noise complaint as well as learn how staff work alongside the UKHSA to respond to infectious disease outbreaks. Additionally, gaining insights from the housing team allowed me to understand the day-to-day experience of working with the HHSRS, giving me an opportunity to discuss the effects of exposure to poor housing conditions with those who work daily to reduce this experience for the people of Knowsley.

One of the most valuable experiences of my visit was the opportunity to sit down with Environmental Health Officers and ask them about their own experiences: the journey into the profession, their professional development whilst working on the job, what motivates them and what areas they see as needing improvement in the environmental health sphere.

Looking forwards

The Policy team’s aim here at CIEH is to contribute to impactful and developmental policy, public relations and campaigning work that improves the lives of those working in the environmental health profession. Having the opportunity to visit and shadow our members in-person offers us insight and experience that is crucial to our work.

I know that this opportunity will strengthen my ability to connect my policy work to the everyday lives of our members in local authorities as well as enhance my contributions to our team going forward. All together this lays the foundations for enhanced and representational policy work that seeks to promote the environmental health profession.

I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone at Knowsley’s environmental health team for being so welcoming and sharing their expertise during my visits.