Download REHIS Journal 20/2 (Summer 2008) - The Royal ...

Environmental Health ScotlandREHIS COMMUNITY TRAININg - FOOD AND HEALTH COURSESby Dr Jane Bunting, Training Adviser (Food and Health)This is the first time I have written for the Journal,so I’ll begin by explaining my role within REHIS. Iam the Training Adviser for food and health, whichtakes me all over Scotland visiting our extensivenetwork of Approved Training Centres, with the taskof ensuring that our Elementary Food and Healthcourses are run to the appropriate standard andmeet the requirements of the course regulations andsyllabus. As well as the quality control and evaluationelement of my role, I also provide support andadvice to our registered trainers.Given current public health issues in Scotland, trainingin food and health has never been more important.The Scottish Diet Action Plan identified a gap inthe nutrition training of caterers and recommendedthat catering staff should be better informed aboutnutrition and that basic training in food, nutritionand health should be a priority. This led to thedevelopment of the Elementary Food and HealthCourse, with the aim of providing a basic training infood, nutrition and health for those involved in foodpreparation. It was developed in conjunction withthe Food Standards Agency Scotland, the ScottishExecutive, the healthyliving award, CommunityFood and Health Scotland, and NHS Health Scotland,and forms part of a number of initiatives to improveScotland’s health and diet. The course covers basicnutrition and eating for health, and focuses on therelationship between food and well-being and how tomake appropriate dietary changes.In more detail, the short six hour course covers therelationship between food and health and is aimed ata wide range of people and settings such as caterers,health care staff, teachers, staff canteens, communitygroups, cafés, schools and nurseries. In short, thiscourse is designed for anyone working with, or withan interest in food. The course consists of six modules,these are:• A General Introduction• The Function of Food• Energy Measures and Influences on Food Intake• Eating for Health - Food and Well-Being• Putting It All Together - Action Planning• Revision and Exam.There are now 122 Approved Centres and over4,000 certificates have been issued. Training centresare varied and include local authorities, colleges,universities, schools, the NHS, HM prison serviceand commercial training companies. The coursehas also proven successful in community food andhealth training, including vulnerable groups such asolder people, low-income groups, the homeless andthose with learning difficulties.As well as the Elementary Food and Health Course,REHIS also jointly accredits a Nutrition Skills courserun by Foodwise Training. As well as nutritiontheory, this course also includes practical cookerysessions and group work and teaching skills, withthe aim of training participants with the skills to beable to carry out a range of activities such asplanning, delivering and evaluating cookery courses,and healthy eating workshops. This course is aimed atanyone with an interest in food and health, for example,nursery and school staff, community workers andcare staff. The course is delivered over 15 weeks,for three hours per week, in addition to a sixweek placement.The Nutrition Skills course has successfully trainedstaff from schools across West Lothian who havenow gone on to run healthy eating and cookingworkshops for children and parents in their schoolsand community centres. For more information see thearticle on page 28.Overall, feedback from the REHIS Food and Healthcourses is positive and encouraging, both fromtrainers and participants. Food and health issues are atan all time high on the political agenda, and improvingtraining in nutrition, food and health at all levels is animportant element of the difficult task of improvingthe nation’s health. REHIS and its network ofdedicated trainers must, therefore, strive to continuedelivering quality training in food and health.For more information onthe Elementary Food andHealth Course,contact the REHIS office on0131 225 5444 or at training@rehis.com.26