supporting colleagues during a period of change tony lewis principal education officer, cieh
TRANSCRIPT
This seminar will…………..
• Explore key drivers for change within regulatory services and the potential impact of these drivers on EHPs and the wider profession
• Examine the issue of ‘competence’ and the need for education and professional development systems for members to be fit for purpose
• Give you an opportunity to raise questions and discuss the implications of the emerging landscape for the future of environmental health
The Chinese Curse
• Often attributed (mistakenly) to Confucius
• The first of three curses of increasing severity, the other two being:
“May you come to the attention of those in authority”
“May you find what you are looking for”
‘Interesting times’
• The international financial position
• The public-sector finances
• Better regulation
• Local government re-organisation
• General election
Coming to the attention of those in authority
• Prof Sir Hugh Pennington
• Sarah Anderson
• The Labour Government – LBRO
• The Conservative Party - Sir David Arculus and Ken Clarke
Those in authority want……..
• EHPs to be:
- Competent
- Proportionate
- Aware of risk
- Experts/specialists
- Professional
- Fit for purpose
- Capable of doing more for less!
What are we looking for?
• Continued relevance
• Influential
• Respected
• To be needed
• Still here - protecting public health and providing good careers for the next generation!
How we might find what we’re looking for
• In practice and as a profession:
- Embrace change and the opportunities it presents
- Be flexible
- Be prepared to sacrifice ‘tradition’“Tradition is an explanation for acting without thinking” Grace McGarvie, American Political Scientist
So what is CIEH doing?
• Changing the culture of 300+ disparate local authorities is impossible for us
• BUT…….we have an ability to:
- Influence those in authority
- Support colleagues in a time of change
- Influence the thinking of the next generation of EHPs
Influencing
• Worked with HSE and partners on the development of the RDNA toolkit
• Working with FSA, DEFRA, CLG, TSI and others on the competence frameworks for food safety, housing, port health etc
• Working with LBRO on competence, leadership and ‘world class regulation’
• Liaised with BERR and Sarah Anderson on her review of the support and guidance given to business by regulators
Influencing (2)
• Gave evidence to Pennington and supported others in doing so
• Smoke freedom
• Significant changes, through lobbying, to the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act, especially provisions relating to exclusions from necessity to consult with the primary authority
• Olympics (2012) – working with London 2012 Food Advisory group and LOCOG
• Sunbeds – working with a range of NGOs across the UK to address this key PH issue
• Contributing to key definitions of water poverty to the “Walker Review” [of charging for household water and sewerage services]
Building competence
Knowledge
Skills
Competencies
Capability
Competence
Excellence ?The Professional Development Stairway to Competence
Lewis and Brennan [2006]
The journey to ‘capable’ as an EHP is via the qualification process
‘Capability’ to ‘competence’ achieved via experience, peer review + reflective practice
Competence – why?
• A formal process that ensures that practitioners are matched appropriately to tasks
• Process started in central government
• Cascaded into government agencies and departments
• Became an issue for EH following the HSE’s (2005) SITNA report
• Now a facet of ‘world class’ regulation
• Featured in the Anderson Review and Pennington
Where are we now
• Framework for H&S (RDNA) complete and launched in January 09
• Framework for health protection complete and launched (by ‘Skills for Health’ as National Occupational Standards)
• Framework for PH complete and launched (Cube)
• Frameworks developed and about to be piloted in food safety and housing
• Framework for port health and contaminated land are under development
• Discussions under way with BRC to develop a framework for commercially-based EH
• Too many frameworks? - LBRO and partners (incl. CIEH) are working on a combined framework for local government regulatory services – supported by LACoRS
• Encourage career-long learning
• Maintain and develop skills in a changing environment
• Maintain the disciplines of learning and continuous professional development developed during training
• Encourage and support more effective development action planning
• Encourage and support reflective learning
Why bother?
• More structured, consistent and robust approach to identifying development needs at individual and line manager level
• Support to Managers to help meet some of these locally
• Support to individuals in developing themselves
• Provides a shield against challenge to our decisions that is far more robust than a qualification certificate and experience
• Once a standard is ‘out there’ and endorsed by a body of some standing it will become ‘compulsory’ by virtue of legal reference
Why bother?
CIEH will deliver.......
• Consultancy services to local authorities to:
- Train managers to appraise staff under RDNA
- Train managers to advise staff on addressing development needs
- To quality assure the RDNA processes
- To provide complete competence support to local authorities and others
• Direct support to members (in partnership with Universities and others) to acquire, maintain and develop competencies
Curriculum 2007
• Launched in 2007 and until 2009 seen as an extremely radical change to the way that we produce EHPs
• EHPs qualifying via this route will not be of the traditional ‘one-size fits all’ style
• Students, Universities and employers are having to make choices
Curriculum 2007 - rollout
• It has already started at two Universities, the remainder will roll-out over the next 12 months or so
• First specialist programmes to operate from 09/10 academic year
• The first graduate is likely to emerge in 2010/11
Curriculum 2007 - why?
• Multi-factorial
- Recognition of contemporary economic, political and practice-led landscapes
- Competence frameworks and the need for practitioners to meet them
- Can’t pack anymore into BSc (Hons) EH
- The placement desert and the need to create new placement options
Curriculum 2007
Underpinning Skills&
Knowledge
EHness
FoodSafety
Public Health
Health Protection
Policy and
strategy
Healthand
Safety
Housing
Environmental Protection
commercial
Radical?
• Yes – in 2007!
• But in 2009?
- Recession
- Anderson Review
- Government’s response to Sarah Anderson
- Pennington
Take Note!
“Has been registered as an Environmental Health Practitioner with specialisms in Food Safety and Environmental Protection having also achieved generalist level in Health & Safety and Public Health”
Implications for employers
• Employers must:
- Refrain from assuming that ‘one size fits all’
- Assess the competence of all new applicants for work
- Match the competence of applicants to the available posts
- Provide support to staff to maintain and enhance their competence
- Manage staff such they and their organisation is not exposed to unnecessary risk
Curriculum Strengths
• The curriculum is fully modularised and is, therefore, extremely flexible
• Dovetails with the current competence agenda and the views expressed by Sarah Anderson and is supportive of Pennington
• Allows CIEH to accredit a much wider range of courses than hitherto
• Provides the foundation for CIEH to further expand its overseas accreditation network and to bring overseas EHPs into membership
• Mixes GP and specialisms - an ‘each-way’ bet that demonstrates flexibility
Weaknesses
• Has been seen as being too radical by some Universities
• Requires wide-ranging support for specialists who wish/need to change their specialism – difficult for LG (?); a new paradigm for Universities and challenging for CIEH
• Demand has the potential to lead to an uneven distribution of new graduates
• Requires a considerable investment by CIEH in the production of high quality marketing materials
• Mixes GP and specialisms - an ‘each-way’ bet that demonstrates a lack of clarity
Opportunities
• To finally shake off the view that EH is a local government profession
• Potentially enables EH and CIEH to become a much broader church and to welcome into membership persons who meet competence frameworks - equivalence !
• Expand CIEH influence and membership overseas
• Mutual recognition agreements with other professional bodies within the EH community and beyond
• To formally tie together the educational and professional continua, with each supporting the other
Threats
• The credit crunch, the state of public finances and local government re-organisation
• Events overtake us – LBRO’s direction, the election etc
• Failure of employers to take their responsibilities seriously for staff development
• Failure of employers to provide placements
• HE funding and student fees
• Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill
Curriculum 2007 - the international dimension
• CIEH has, to date, accredited two BSc programs in Malaysia and an MSc in Hong Kong:
- Universiti Teknologi MARA, Kuala Lumpur
- MAHSA University College, Kuala Lumpur
- Hong Kong University
• More to follow:- Discussions ongoing with Universiti Putra Malaysia
- Discussions ongoing with institutions in Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Botswana etc
• Malaysian and Hong Kong graduates will have the opportunity to submit ELP and take CIEH Professional Exams
• EHRB Certificates of Registration endorsed for Malaysia and Hong Kong etc
International Curriculum
• Developed by Tony Lewis, Maurice Brennan and Prof. Steve Konkel on behalf of the International Faculty Forum of IFEH
• Hopefully adopted by IFEH by September 2010
• Designed as a means of pass-porting core EHP knowledge, skills and competencies around the world
• Easy the process of EHPs moving from one country to another
In summary
• We are undoubtedly experiencing interesting times
• We have come to the attention of those in authority and, right now, they expect us to change and deliver change
• The changes to come will be profound
• We have to survive and prosper and that will require flexibility and an ability to throw off the past
• We are seeking to influence the agents of change
• But, at the same time, we are planning for and beginning to deliver the change that those in authority expect to see