Our consultants are environmental health practitioners, several with regulatory backgrounds, who have led outbreak investigations involving gastrointestinal, water-borne and food-borne illness. In practice this means one person can trace the likely source, take samples that will stand up to scrutiny, assess whether the controls were adequate, and work directly with the public health unit.
Scope
What we investigate and control
The transmission route is often unclear at the outset, so the investigation usually covers each of them in parallel:
- Gastrointestinal illness — identifying source and transmission route across accommodation, catering and shared amenities, and verifying that cleaning and exclusion arrangements are effective.
- Water-borne illness — potable and warm water systems, recreational water and cooling systems, including Legionella and Pseudomonas.
- Food-borne illness — tracing an outbreak back through food handling, temperature control, equipment and premises to the practice involved.
- Respiratory and person-to-person transmission — ventilation, occupancy, hygiene facilities and case management, assessed against ISO/PAS 45005:2020.
Services
What we do
Outbreak investigation
Leading the investigation: case and site information, likely source and transmission route, sampling, and a defensible account of what happened and why.
Field sampling and testing
Sampling using wipes and swabs, and field testing for coliforms, enterococci, E. coli, heterotrophic plate count, Legionella pneumophila and Pseudomonas aeruginosa by defined substrate technology.
ISO/PAS 45005:2020 assessment
Assessment of workplace arrangements against ISO/PAS 45005:2020 — ventilation, washrooms, facilities, work practices and incident handling — within our accredited scope.
Premises and hygiene inspection
Inspection of premises, amenities and food handling areas, and verification that cleaning and disinfection are effective in practice.
Control verification
Independent verification that the controls relied on after an incident are effective, and that they are still being applied some months later.
Public health liaison
Dealing with public health units and regulators through an incident, and preparing the documentation they will ask for.
Smale Consulting Group is accredited by NATA for compliance with ISO/IEC 17020 as a Type C inspection body. Our detailed scope of accreditation is available here. Accreditation No. 20913. Our scope specifically covers Environmental Health — Inspection for communicable diseases and incident management, and assessment of occupational hazards against ISO/PAS 45005:2020, including sampling using wipes and swabs. More about our accreditations.
FAQ
Common questions
Is this work NATA accredited?
Yes. Our ISO/IEC 17020 scope covers Environmental Health — Inspection, with communicable diseases and incident management named as products, and assessment of occupational hazards with ISO/PAS 45005:2020 among the covering standards. The full scope is published on the NATA register.
Can you sample and test on site?
Yes. Our scope includes sampling using wipes and swabs, and field testing for coliforms, enterococci, E. coli, heterotrophic plate count, Legionella pneumophila and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Where laboratory confirmation is needed we manage the chain of custody to an accredited laboratory.
Is this still relevant now the pandemic response has wound down?
The emergency orders have lapsed, but the underlying work health and safety duty has not. Gastroenteritis, Legionella, food-borne illness, influenza and COVID-19 remain workplace transmission risks. Many organisations built their controls under emergency conditions and have not reviewed them since, which is usually a reasonable place to start.
Can you help during an active outbreak?
Yes. Investigation, sampling, case and contact procedures, cleaning verification, notification, and liaison with the public health unit while the response is still running.
Related
See this work in practice in our case studies, or read more on:
Work Health, Safety & Hygiene →Food Safety →Water Quality →Accreditations →
Dealing with an outbreak, or reviewing your controls?
Start with a short conversation about the sites, the arrangements in place and the timing.