Karen Williams, Senior Environmental Health Officer, Belfast City Council

Karen Williams

Karen Williams, Senior Enviromental Health Officer, Belfast City Council

What led you into your current post?

 Environmental health covers a very wide range of functions – health and safety, consumer affairs, food safety, inspections of ships, aircraft and imported foods, pest control, dog warden service, public health and housing, environmental protection, regulatory services and health development. Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) seek to protect public health by giving advice, information and using enforcement powers. Health Development focuses on the educational part of the work and is the area I enjoy working in the most. I had always wanted to go into teaching but did environmental health instead, so I was really pleased when I was given the opportunity to work full time in an educational role. 

What are the central elements of your role?

In health development, our aim is to promote the work of the environmental health service and to encourage healthy lifestyles. We do this in a number of ways. We provide information, advice and training on a range of health issues and deliver courses in food hygiene and health and safety. We give talks to community groups on food safety in the home and also work with schools on things like the role of the EHO and the effects of pollution. I manage four student environmental health officers on placement with the council. I also work with other agencies in promoting healthy lifestyles through events such as ‘No Smoking Day’ and ‘Food Safety Week’.

Describe your average working day.

 No two days are ever the same so there is no such thing as an average day in this job. For example, I might spend the morning delivering a training session and then have a meeting to attend in the afternoon. Like most people these days, I also spend time catching up with my colleagues, keeping on top of e-mails and returning phone messages.

Are there key qualities needed to work in educating people about Environmental Health issues?

The key qualities are the need to be knowledgeable, approachable and flexible.

What is the most challenging aspect of your job?

The most challenging aspect is probably meeting customer’s needs and expectations. We work with people of all ages. Choosing the best approach for a particular group of people is important.  There is also such a range and variety of work and keeping up to date is essential.

What has been the oddest experience you have had in your role?

The oddest experience was probably finding myself on my hands and knees on the floor using finger puppets to talk to children about care in the sun or on another occasion delivering training in the living room of a house with a sheet as a screen!

How do you get the Environmental Health message out to consumers?

 I use a variety of ways to get messages out to consumers – presentations, talks, courses, promotional events, health fairs, careers conventions, talks in schools, leaflets, radio interviews and articles in the press; as well as through the council website at www.belfastcity.gov.uk

How do you hope to engage further with consumers to raise awareness of important environmental health issues, such as food safety?

At the moment we are producing packs for use by youth leaders which will hopefully encourage young people to be more physically active and to eat more healthily.

What does environmental health entail?

All aspects of environmental health contribute to the health and well being of the community. Promoting the work of environmental health will hopefully encourage people to access the range of services we offer. We want to make Belfast a safe and healthy place to live, work and play.

How do you relax outside working hours?

Outside of working hours I enjoy going to the gym, catching up with family and friends, going to the theatre and cinema or just relaxing at home.