David Ormandy

BACKGROUND

Professorial fellow. Head of the Safe and Healthy Housing Unit in the Institute of Health.

Specialises in the formulation of standards, the relationship between the environment and health (particularly the housing environment), and the health-based assessment of conditions.

Member of the Scientific Advisory Committe of the US National Center for Healthy Housing; member of the WHO Steering Group for the Development of Healthy Housing Guidelines; Fellow of the BRE (the UK Building Research Establishment).

With Véronique Ezratty MD, Medical Studies Department of EDF (SEM d'EDF, France), working on studies into Health, Energy, and Energy Precariousness, on Unintentional Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in Dwellings, and on Thermal Comfort in Dwellings. With Véronique, has given presentations on CO poisoning studies, including at conferences organised by Society for Risk Assessment (Europe), and Indoor 2011.

Managed a study into housing options for older people in Devon, UK, and contributed to and co-edited a publication on the Environmental Burden of Disease from Inadequate Housing for the WHO (Europe).

Worked with the US Department for Housing and Urban Development on the adoptation of the English Housing Health and Safety Rating System (on which, see below) for use in the USA, renamed Healthy Housing Rating System .

In 2010, with Dr Anna Paldy of the National Institute of Environmental Health (Hungary), for the World Health Organization (Europe) and the local WHO Country Office, commissioned to make recommendations to the Albanian government on developing health relevant indicators for climate change. Also for WHO (Europe), edited contributions on the Environmental Burden of Disease attributable to housing. Advisor to the Building Research Establishment on a project to develop a methodology to compare the one-off cost of mitigating housing hazards with the estimated annual cost saving to the health sector - The Real Cost of Poor Housing. Managed a project on the Health Impact Assessment of Housing Interventions for the Regional Leaders Board for the North-West of England which used the BRE's methodology to show the financial benefits to the health sector from housing interventions by local authorities (download report here Linking Housing Conditions with Health). Recently edited Housing and Health in Europe: the WHO LARES project (2009, Routledge).

Background in public health, having worked in local authorities. Subsequently specialised in housing conditions and practised as an expert witness in cases dealing with housing conditions. Founder and director of the Public Health Advisory Service (a project funded by Shelter). Joined the Law School full time in 1996 after working with Roger Burridge on studies into housing standards. Moved to the Institute of Health, School of Health and Social Studies in February 2010.

Since 1992, involved in studies for the UK central government into controls on minimum standards in housing and the health impact of housing conditions. Responsible for the project which developed the original version of the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) which was published in July 2000. Also managed the project to refine and update the statistical evidence supporting the HHSRS.

Responsible to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM, now the Department for Communities and Local Government, CLG) for the project to develop Version 2 of the HHSRS. This included the production of Technical Guidance (published in 2006 as the Operating Guidance), the production of illustrated Worked Examples, and, together with the University's IT Services, the development of software for hand-held computers and desktop PCs. All the documents, programs etc are published by the ODPM on a CD-Rom. The work involved is described in a Project Report. Also responsible for the production of a HHSRS Guidance for Landlords. Part 1 of the Housing Act 2004, which received Royal Assent in November 2004, introduced the HHSRS as the prescribed method for assessing housing conditions and the first stage in determining whether enforcement action under Part 1 is appropriate. The HHSRS was brought into effect by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (England) Regulations 2005 on 6th April 2006. Responsible for the development and delivery of training on the application of the HHSRS, part of the government's national training programme for front line local authority officers. Responsible for a project to produce an Approved Code of Practice for Management Standards in Multi-Occupied Buildings, and for the production of Housing Disrepair Legal Obligations: Good Practice Guide, both for the ODPM.

Member of the World Health Organization European Task Force on Health and Housing which monitored and advised on the LARES project (a study of housing conditions and health in eight European countries - see Housing and Health in Europe (2009) Routledge). For WHO ECEH (Bonn) undertook the start-up work to develop Housing-Health Indicators and was involved in the WHO work on development of Environmental Health Indicators, both projects for the European Union. Seconded to WHO ECEH (Bonn) for three months in 2006, primarily to review and develop their strategy on health and housing. Also contributed to WHO projects on policy briefs to reduce children's unintentional injuries (part of the work on Children's Environment and Health Action Plan for Europe), developing health relevant climate change indicators, and indoor air quality.

Has contributed to work on the development of a Healthy Housing Index carried out by the Housing and Health Research Programme at University of Otago, New Zealand. Was an invited expert on work on housing and health carried out by the US National Center for Health Housing.

With Professor Roger Burridge organised the Warwick series of (un)Healthy Housing conferences - Unhealthy Housing: A diagnosis (1986), Unhealthy Housing: Prevention and remedies (1987), and Unhealthy Housing: The Public Health response (1991), and Healthy Housing: promoting good health (2003). Organised the 5th Warwick Healthy Housing Conference (2008).

LINKS

• Healthy Housing: promoting good health conference(2003)

  World Health Organization -

• Housing and Health
• LARES study
• Environmental Health Information System
• CEHAPE

Other useful sites -

National Center for Healthy Housing, USA - http://www.nchh.org

Department of Housing and Urban Development - http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?mode=disppage&id=HHRS

Wellington School of Medicine and Health, New Zealand - Housing and Health Research Programme

CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

• Review of publications on the Environmental Burden of Disease from Housing, World Health Organization, Europe, Contributing to and editing material produced by experts on the EBD attributable to housing conditions, Project Start Date: 01/04/2009 Project End Date: 01/03/2010
• Survey of Knowledge of Students of the Quality of Indoor Environment, Gas Safety Trust, Investigation of the knowledge of students in private rented accommodation of the potential impact of indoor air pollutants, Project Start Date: 15/09/2009 Project End Date: 01/05/2010
• Survey of residents of housing association dwellings of the quality of indoor environment, Gas Safety Trust, Investigation of the knowledge of housing association residents of the potential impact of indoor pollutants on health, Project Start Date: 15/09/2009 Project End Date: 01/05/2010
  
  

  Further Research Projects

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

• Ormandy D (ed) (2009) Housing and Health in Europe: the WHO LARES Project (978-0-415-47735-2) Oxford, UK: Rouledge
• Ormandy D (2009) 'The Right to Healthy Housing: Putting health at the centre of English housing policies' in Conseil d Etat Rapport Public 2009, , Paris, France: La Documentation Française
• Carr H, Cottle S, and Ormandy D (2008) Using the Housing Act 2004 (978-184661-100-1) Bristol, UK: Jordans
• Burridge R, Ormandy D, (2007) 'Health and Safety at Home: Private and Public Responsibility for Unsatisfactory Housing Conditions' Journal Of Law And Society 34 (4), 544 - 566 (0263-323X)
• Ormandy D (2007) 'Home: haven or accident blackspot? A review of the causes of home accidents' International Journal of Environment and Pollution 30 (3/4), (         09...   )