Iceland gives all 70 health inspectors notice as oversight is restructured

All 70 of Iceland’s health inspectors have been given notice of termination ahead of planned changes to the country’s health inspection system, mbl.is reports. Inspector Pétur Halldórsson says officials who work in the field were not heard during preparations for the overhaul.

A bill introduced by Environment, Energy and Climate Minister Jóhann Páll Jóhannsson was approved this summer. It will abolish health committees, end the current regional structure of health inspections and transfer most responsibility for hygiene and pollution-control inspections to the Environment and Energy Agency and a new Agency for Industries.

“What has characterised the lead-up to this is that people have been trying to force it through,” Pétur told mbl.is. He said health inspectors had repeatedly sought to take part in preparing the changes but received little response. “The atmosphere has not been good. Professional views from the field have not been listened to.”

Pétur said the Association of Health Inspectors had also tried to contribute to preparations for the legislative changes, but the ministry at the time said no such changes were being planned. Health inspection staff were later called to an online meeting at short notice and told what the new system would look like.

He said attendees were told that questions and discussion were not open, and that officials were explaining how the system would work. An hour later, ministers held a news conference and said there was nothing more to discuss and that the changes needed to be pushed through, he said.

Pétur also criticised the plan to divide the inspection responsibilities between agencies. The Environment and Energy Agency is to handle, among other things, infection prevention and pollution, while the new Agency for Industries will oversee food inspections.

He said the responsibilities overlap in places such as preschools, healthcare facilities and cruise ships. Although parliament was told that responsibilities could be transferred between agencies to prevent duplicate inspections, officials now say such transfers are too complicated to consider until later, he said.

Pétur said practical questions about how infection-prevention and food inspections will intersect remain unresolved before the changes take effect.