Guest blog by Ella Wheeldon, Business Development Manager for the Health Protection Team at West Northamptonshire Council.
Ella is a guest speaker at our upcoming business networking session at the Vulcan Works, discussing some of the common legal and regulatory pitfalls that both new startups and established businesses can find themselves in, with tips to avoid these and who to speak with to get the best advice on what to do next.
Find out more and book your place here.
I have been an Environmental Health Officer for 18 years, working in local government and the private sector as a consultant and auditor. I came into Environmental Health to make a difference to the local community’s wellbeing, through health protection and to support businesses to comply with legal requirements. As deemed necessary the role has
also included enforcement work where noncompliance was found.
As an officer, I inspected and supported food businesses with their compliance with legislation and awarding their Food Hygiene Rating Score. I have investigated workplace accidents, infectious disease outbreaks and complaints.
After working in Northamptonshire for the last 6 years I am now the Business Development Manager for WNC which is a new team within Regulatory Services. The team aims to provide a high quality, customer-focused service that promotes the health and wellbeing of the community.
Since taking on this role in September 2023 the work has been varied, involving lots of partnership work and analysis of how our team can support local businesses. We are here to support all local businesses within West Northamptonshire in every capacity we can, to comply with legislation and guidance.
To do this all businesses, regardless of size or scope should have equal access to guidance and support in the format they can afford and desire. We can support new and established businesses that are looking for support with food hygiene, health & safety advice, allergen management, pest control and more. This could be practical advice, training, site setup, or paperwork and procedures. We have access to a team of Env. Health Practitioners with years of knowledge and who better to support you than the team who know the legal requirements inside out.
Things I am currently working on, with the team, involve:
Developing the expanding offer of advice, services, and paid for consultancy to local businesses.
Reviewing our training offer.
Expanding the Pest Control Service to widen the scope of our services.
Looking to widen our offer to businesses looking for a Primary Authority.
Organising a Health, Safety & Wellbeing Forum for local businesses.