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(a) Staff shortages
(b) Progress already achieved under the Act.
(c) Other environmental health duties which compete for the attention of the
inspectorate.
A limited amount of specialisation was necessary during the formative years
of the Act to further the registration and survey of business premises. In 1968
with the completion of the major portion of initial detailed inspections and
registrations the emphasis was placed on other environmental health duties.
Subsequently the enforcement of the Act was made the responsibility of the
District Public Health Inspector, who undertook inspections when the burden
of public health and other complaints permitted.
During 1973 it became apparent that some of the momentum gained during the
early years of the enforcement of the Act had been lost, particularly in the
southern part of the Borough where environmental health problems are more
acute. It also became clear that there needed to be a change of emphasis in
assessment of our progress. Although it is meaningful to use the number of
registered premises receiving one or more general inspections as a criterion
of progress it is more meaningful to ascertain the number of employees who
benefited (directly or indirectly) from the inspectors visit. This being the
case it became necessary to divert the emphasis of our inspections from shops
to offices, which contain more employees.
At the same time initial steps were taken to ensure that the enforcement of
the Act progressed in a more systematic and productive fashion. Two
Technical Assistants were engaged for the purposes of undertaking routine
inspections of non-food premises, supervised by a Divisional Public Health
Inspector who is also responsible for food control. Although this arrangement
was only instigated in the latter part of the year gratifying results have
already been achieved. In April 1974 it is planned to develop the centralised
internal enforcement of the Act with the employment of two Senior Public
Health Inspectors who will supervise the day to day work of the Technical
Assistants and carry out the more difficult inspections. The Senior
Inspectors will also be responsible for food control duties. Thus, by the
middle of 1974 a separate section will be in operation for the enforcement
of the Act and of all aspects of food control. It is hoped that this arrangement
will enable each registered premise to receive one general inspection and one
revisit per year.
(ii) EFFECT OF THE ACT UPON CONDITIONS
Ventilation
The majority of premises which come within the scope of the Act are small
units without complex systems of mechanical ventilation. Nevertheless, some
cases of difficulty have been found:-
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