Inside the hidden world of environmental health

Jo Robertson was recently inside the home of a dead man she’d never met. There were messages on the answerphone, so she pressed play and a male American voice cheerfully said, “Hi, how are you?” The next message was the same voice, asking if the man was OK because he hadn’t called him back. A third message said, “What’s going on? Please get back to me”. Finally, the friend’s fourth message said, “Something must have happened. If anyone is listening to this please contact me.” Jo wasn’t trespassing. She was in the dead man’s home because she’s an environmental health officer – a job, it turns out, that involves some very unusual activities. Environmental health officers have legal powers similar to the police, and their work has an impact on all of our lives, yet most of us know little about what they actually do. So UNISON went to Stevenage to meet long-time UNISON member Jo on her local patch, and find out exactly what her extraordinary job involves. Have you ever wondered what happens when someone dies without any relatives around them? Well, that’s where Jo gets involved. When a patient at the local Lister Hospital dies and they don’t have a relative or friend with them, the hospital’s bereavement office will ring Jo’s team, and that kicks off a process of detective work that can last several weeks. When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains – however improbable – must be the truth Usually the deceased person’s house...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: Magazine health and safety local government Source Type: news