News Archive 2002

The Royal Institute of Public Health appoints first non-medical Chairman

Jack Jeffery CBE has been elected as the first non-medical Chairman of Council of the Royal Institute of Public Health. A chemist and bacteriologist, who has worked predominantly in the water industry, Mr Jeffery has a distinguished career in water and waste management.

The election of Jack Jeffery on 18 July signals the Royal Institute's clear commitment to a multidisciplinary and inter-sectorial approach to public health. Chief Executive Nicky Wilkins said "This is excellent news for the Royal Institute and we look forward very much to working with our new Chairman".

Jack Jeffery is the author of numerous papers on water quality and treatment and water privatisation. He is Chairman of Convocation at the University of Newcastle and Chairman of the World Humanity Action Trust. He is a Trustee of Dementia North, a Freeman of the City of London and past Master of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers. Jack Jeffery brings a wealth of experience to the role of Chairman of the Royal Institute of Public Health; as a scientist, an industrialist and as a charity trustee.

Speaking of his election, Jack Jeffery said "Throughout its long history, the Royal Institute has played a key role in improving public health through its work in many areas, including education and certification. In the UK, many battles have been won but there is still much to be done. New threats to public health continue to emerge, while in the developing world, there are enormous problems of diseases related to poverty and lack of the safe water supply and sanitation that we in the UK are able to take for granted. To be elected Chairman of the Royal Institute is a great honour and I shall do my best to live up to the high standards set by my predecessors."

Notes to editors:

1. The Royal Institute of Public Health (RIPH) is an independent organisation promoting the advancement of public health and hygiene through education and training, information and quality testing and policy development.

2. The election of Jack Jeffery as Chairman of the RIPH took place on 18 July 2002. At the same meeting Dr Alan Maryon Davis, Director of Public Health for Southwark, who is well known as a writer and broadcaster on health and for his work in nutrition, the promotion of exercise and heart disease prevention, was elected as Vice Chairman.

3. The RIPH has been promoting public health for over 100 years. It has members in 64 countries and training centres in 16. The RIPH provides a portfolio of qualifications that are directly relevant to the workplace. 80,000 candidates sit RIPH examinations each year in food safety, nutrition, mortuary hygiene and salon hygiene.

4. The three constituent bodies which merged to make the present day Royal Institute of Public Health, all had their origins in medicine but the organisation has always recognised that good public health relies on clean water, good sanitation and other environmental and life style factors, as much as medical interventions.

5. The RIPH's multidisciplinary approach to public health is reflected in its ongoing programme of courses and symposia, on topics ranging from safe drinking water in developing countries, to cold homes, to teenage pregnancy.

6. Over the last three years, the Royal Institute has been working with the Faculty of Public Health Medicine and the Multidisciplinary Health Forum to develop standards and a register for multidisciplinary public health specialists. This work now has strong Government backing.

For further information contact:
Julie Knope
tel: 020 7291 8358 fax: 020 7291 8383 email: jknope@riph.org.uk
The Royal Institute of Public Health, 28 Portland Place, London W1B 1DE www.riph.org.uk

Eating for Health in Care Homes - new publication

Claire Rayner has launched the Royal Institute of Public Health's new publication, Eating for Health in Care Homes. This is a practical nutrition handbook for owners, managers, chefs and other staff in care homes.

With contributions from a wide range of experts, this book explains what constitutes good nutrition in old age, how to deal with common problems such as difficulties with swallowing, under-nutrition and providing good nutrition to people with dementia. It also covers diabetes and the needs of people from different religious and cultural backgrounds.

'There is so much more to catering in a care home than simply providing good food', writes Dr Alan Maryon Davis in the foreword to the book. 'Meals and meal times are at the very centre of the residents' day to day lives. Care home staff, particularly those involved in preparing and serving meals, can make such a difference to the quality of life for residents; life really can be added to their years'.

Eating for Health in Care Homes also gives a wealth of practical advice on menu planning, budgeting and food presentation. The book was originally conceived as a new handbook to accompany the Royal Institute's programme of one-day courses, which are run throughout the UK. But the book stands alone as a practical manual for all those concerned with the provision of food to older people in care homes.

Launching the book at the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health's conference on nutrition, Claire Rayner said: "It was a pleasure to support the Royal Institute in launching this new publication - I am convinced it will make a valuable contribution to the health and quality of life of care home residents."

Eating for Health in Care Homes, a practical nutrition handbook edited by Sue Thomas, SRD, DipHE and Hilary Mengham, MPhil, SRD, is available from Geri Maylin, The Royal Institute of Public Health, 28 Portland Place, London W1B 1DE for £15 (UK) including postage and packing.

Information on the one day courses is available from Geri Maylin,
Tel: +44 (0)20 7291 8362 email: gmaylin@riph.org.uk

Visit to the Royal College of Physicians

Members' visit

Royal Institute members had a rare glimpse of the Royal College of Physicians' unique library collection in May. Our specially arranged members' event included a private tour of the library at their famous Grade I listed building in Regent's Park, London, and access to the Royal College of Physicians' fascinating collection of archive material and historical documents not usually seen by the public.

The collection contained the Elizabethan Charter of Anatomy which allowed, for the first time, the legal dissection of the body (formerly an act of heresy). Books belonging to John Dee, Mathematician to Elizabeth I were also on view.

In the Dorchester Library members viewed portraits and books from a 17th century collection - still laid out in the original order specified by the Marquis of Dorchester, who replaced the previous collection with his own books when all but 100 items were destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. In the reading room members were treated to a brief history of the medieval book binding process and given the rare opportunity to hold and examine books dating from the 14th and 15th Centuries including the 1340 book of hours with beautiful illuminated pages and, from 1473, Caxton's 'History of Troy' - the first ever book to be printed in English.

Royal Institute Corporate Members visit Sainsbury’s

Corporate Members of the Royal Institute of Public Health had the opportunity to see best practice in food hygiene and safety when they visited Sainsbury’s flagship store in Walton-on-Thames on Wednesday 17 April.

Senior members of Sainsbury’s technical team explained the use of HACCP as a cornerstone to monitoring food safety from the 2500 suppliers across the Globe to the 460 stores throughout the UK. The visit was designed to give Corporate Members of the Royal Institute of Public Health the opportunity to share best practice and forms part of the Royal Institute’s programme to develop links between industry, trainers and enforcement authorities.

The group, which included representatives from Harrods, Thames Water, Altro Floors, Floor Safety Technology, Food Hygiene Matters, Campden & Chorleywood Food Research Association and Tate & Lyle, learned about Sainsbury’s response to the particular challenges of a global supply network, the importance of staff training and the monitoring and auditing processes used to ensure consistently high standards in hygiene, safety and quality. Small groups then toured the Walton-on-Thames supermarket, which opened last November, to see the food safety systems in place in-store.

Alan Lacey, Technical Liaison Manager for Sainsbury’s, said: "Sainsbury’s produce 10,000 own label products and have 10 million customers per week. Our focus on quality helps to ensure we meet our customer expectations. We welcome this opportunity to provide an open forum for discussions with other organisations who share our aims to strive for high standards in food hygiene."

Nichola Wilkins, Chief Executive of the Royal Institute of Public Health said: "We see Corporate Membership as an opportunity to advance public health by bringing together the major players in the field, and also a chance to offer our private, public and voluntary sector partners a unique forum for interagency networking. We are so pleased to be able to develop our existing relationship with founder Corporate Member, Sainsbury’s in this way."

Sainsbury’s commitment to high standards in food hygiene and safety includes putting staff through training courses leading to Royal Institute food hygiene and safety qualifications. Building on the relationship between the two organisations a new Sainsbury’s room will be launched in early 2003 as part of the refurbishment of the Royal Institute of Public Health’s 18th Century Grade II listed headquarters in central London.
 
For further information contact:
Julie Knope
tel: 020 7291 8358
fax: 020 7291 8383
email: jknope@riph.org.uk
 The Royal Institute of Public Health, 28 Portland Place, London W1B 1DE


Food Safety - it's in your hands

A TV advertising campaign showing how easily food poisoning bugs can spread was launched this spring as part of the Food Standards Agency's food hygiene campaign.

The ad, featuring a specially-recorded version of the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang song Truly Scrumptious, focused on handwashing using ultra-violet light to show easily food bugs such as salmonella and Ecoli can spread. It forms part of the Agency's £20m campaign, launched in February 2002, aimed at raising hygiene standards in catering businesses across the UK. The campaign, set to run for five years, aims to reduce incidence of food poisoning by 20% by 2006.

Each year the FSA publishes a consumer attitudes survey. The 2001 survey, published on the same day as the campaign launch, revealed that 12% of all UK consumers said they had had food poisoning in the last year.

The first phase of the Food Standards Agency's campaign is encouraging higher standards of hygiene on catering kitchens; click here for information on Royal Institute qualifications in food hygiene and safety.

Further information on the Food Standards Agency's food hygiene campaign is available from the FSA website: www.food.gov.uk

A Royal Institute first in HACCP: QCA accreditation

THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC HEALTH'S ADVANCED DIPLOMA IN APPLIED HACCP PRINCIPLES and INTERMEDIATE CERTIFICATE IN APPLIED HACCP PRINCIPLES have been formally accredited by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. These are the first and currently only Level 3 and Level 2 HACCP qualifications to receive QCA accreditation.

The Level 3 Advanced Diploma in Applied HACCP Principles, which was launched in 2001, and the Level 2 Intermediate Certificate in Applied HACCP Principles are part of the range of food safety and HACCP qualifications provided by the Royal Institute of Public Health, all of which have received formal accreditation by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, the regulating body for educational standards in England.

Accreditation provides assurance to candidates, employers and training centres about the quality and 'fitness for purpose' of the qualifications. It also makes clear their status within the National Qualifications Framework and ensures that they are eligible for public funding through colleges and other officially approved training centres.

Nichola Wilkins, Chief Executive of the Royal Institute of Public Health said:

"Our food hygiene and safety and HACCP qualifications are highly regarded throughout the food safety industry and I am very proud that the Royal Institute is able to offer the UK's only QCA accredited Level 2 and 3 HACCP qualifications. QCA accreditation reinforces the confidence that employers, trainers and candidates have in the integrity of our qualifications and highlights our commitment to raising standards in education."

Notes to editors:

  1. The Royal Institute of Public Health (formerly the Royal Institute of Public Health & Hygiene) is an independent organisation promoting the advancement of public health and hygiene through education and training, information and quality testing.
  2. The Royal Institute has been promoting public health for over 100 years. It has members in 64 countries and training centres in 16. The Royal Institute provides a portfolio of qualifications that are directly relevant to the workplace. 80,000 candidates sit Royal Institute examinations each year in food safety, nutrition, mortuary hygiene and salon hygiene.
For further information contact:

Julie Knope
tel: 020 7291 8358
fax: 020 7291 8383
email: jknope@riph.org.uk

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