Adam Stevenson is the new Head of Health and Safety across Sonic Healthcare UK.
Adam joined Sonic Healthcare UK at the beginning of the year.
Adam originally completed a degree in forensic science before working for the Forensic Science Service (FSS).
While working in their laboratories he quickly got a taste for health and safety: he became Health and Safety Rep for the Prospect union and eventually the Safety, Health and Environmental Coordinator for the FSS site at Huntingdon, acquiring the foundation NEBOSH certification and following up with the NEBOSH Diploma along the way.
After FSS was sold off, Adam took the opportunity to pursue health and safety as a career.
He joined the Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS FT as Health and Safety Advisor, but soon craved a return to a laboratory environment and joined the Health Protection Agency (HPA).
New challenges beckoned
He was there throughout HPA’s transition to Public Health England, rising through the ranks, acquiring further qualifications and becoming a chartered health and safety professional through the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).
“After almost thirteen years at PHE, I was after some new challenges,” says Adam. It certainly must have been a challenge taking on his new role during a global pandemic.
Adam has been responsible for the assurance and maintenance of all of the Covid measures that Emer and her team had implemented before his arrival.
He explains that many of these measures were a result of combining pre-existing knowledge about hazardous substance control and the evolving government guidance, which he himself had a hand in developing in his time at PHE.
It’s not all cuts and scrapes
Adam says health and safety isn’t only about cuts and scrapes. He has a specific interest in the impact of mental health issues and stress in particular.