Environmental Health Officer

Karen Foote
Environmental Health Officer
Buchan Area
Broad Street
Peterhead

What does your role involve?

The Environmental Health Profession is involved with all aspects of the environment that impact on human health. As an Environmental Health Officer (EHO) in a Local Authority (LA) I am involved in offering guidance and advice to individuals and businesses on these matters. This includes food safety; health and safety in the workplace; matters of environmental pollution such as noise, air pollution; housing standards and general public health, including private water supplies and port health. Within each of these areas an EHO also has an enforcement role to deal with problems that can not be resolved informally.

What do you enjoy best about your role?

The variety of activities covered makes the role interesting – I could be inspecting the kitchen of a restaurant, trying to trace the cause of a bad smell and walking across a field to a private water supply all in a single day. I enjoy the fact that I speak to different people from all walks of life, although some can be challenging, others are extremely appreciative of whatever action has been taken to help them.

Tell us about your background and experience.

After school and college I moved from home in Glasgow to Inverness where I became the Technical Manager in a smoked salmon manufacturing plant, responsible for all aspects of hygiene, product quality and food safety within the factory. I enjoyed this but after 8 years I felt it was time for a change. I had always had a bit of a desire to be an EHO but the only route is to do a degree in Environmental Health – the thought of years of study had always put me off! However by then my 2 brothers had their graduation photos on the wall and I was jealous! So I returned to Glasgow and to full time education for 3 years as a mature student.

To qualify as an EHO it is necessary to find a ‘training placement’ with an LA. Such placements were few and far between at the time but I was successful with Aberdeenshire and started my formal training in the summer times while studying. After graduating then sitting professional exams I qualified as an EHO in March 2005 and was appointed to post in Peterhead.

What makes you stay with Aberdeenshire Council?

On a professional note… in most LA’s, EHO’s specialise in one or two areas, for example food safety, health and safety. Due to the rural nature of Aberdeenshire we are ‘general’ EHO’s meaning that all aspects of my training are used so giving a great variety to the working day. On a personal note… I live in Ellon and the great countryside of the Shire, the beach at Bamedie and the Big City all at easy access makes for a great quality of life.