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Environmental Health ScotlandTHE CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S VIEWTom BellI was privileged to represent the Institute at the WorldCongress on Environmental Health in Brisbane inMay this year. Other members of the REHISdelegation were Robert Howe, the President, andBernard Forteath, a Past President and President Electof the International Federation of EnvironmentalHealth. My main remits were to represent the Instituteat the International Faculty Forum meeting, to organiseand man the exhibition stand and to attend as manysessions as possible for the purposes of continuingprofessional development.This was the first time that the Institute had hired anexhibition stand at a World Congress and, in keepingwith our green credentials, all display materialsused were designed in Scotland and printed off inAustralia. This not only reduced our carbon footprintbut significantly reduced the cost of the Institute’sparticipation. Given the overall theme of sustainabilityit was surprising that some exhibitors imported largenumbers of cardboard boxes full of promotionalmaterials. Our approach was to deal with any enquiriesverbally and to refer enquiring delegates to theREHIS website for common sense information on theInstitute’s activities. This ‘green’ approach waswelcomed by the many delegates who took theopportunity to visit the stand.The International Faculty Forum meeting was heldon Sunday 11 May and, within an hour of arriving inBrisbane, Robert Howe and I were representing theInstitute at the first of many events. Despite the factthat we had been travelling for over 36 hours it wouldbe fair to say that we played a very full part in thediscussions that unfolded at this meeting.The congress, entitled Environmental Health,A Sustainable Future, was officially opened onMonday 12 May and the sessions, held over fourdays, covered a wide range of issues including climatechange and environmental health; urbanisationand healthy settings for sustainability; indigenoushealth and disease control; environmental healthmanagement, major incident and risk management;and capacity building.Friday 16 May was the fifth and final day of thecongress and delegates were able to choose froman interesting range of all-day technical tours.Bernard Forteath and I chose to visit the SuncorpStadium, Queensland’s premier outdoor sporting venue,and the nearby Castlemaine XXXX brewery. It wasvery interesting to hear Australian views on publicsafety, occupational health and safety, and food safetyduring these visits.The Brisbane World Congress was superbly organisedand all delegates enjoyed an action packed, extremelyinformative and thought-provoking event. The congressorganisers, the Australian Institute of EnvironmentalHealth (rebranded as Environmental Health Australiaduring the congress) are to be congratulated on thesuccess of the event!It became very clear from the many discussionsbetween environmental health professionals from theFederation’s member organisations that partnershipsbased on mutual respect are the best way to deal withglobal environmental health issues. Organisations witha business-first approach and an ethos based on selfinteresthave little to contribute. The Institute looksforward to working in positive partnerships to protectand improve environmental and public health acrossthe globe.Presented papers are now available on the IFEH’swebsite www.ifeh2008.org.
Environmental Health ScotlandREHIS ANNUal conference 2008 - presidential addressby Robert HowePresented at the Annual Conference in Edinburgh, 17 April 2008Robert HoweThere are many today who question the relevance andindeed the future of Environmental Health in modernday society.Well let me make it clear, as long as there is humanlife there will be the issue of Environmental Health.It may not always have been called EnvironmentalHealth but since the creation of human life there havealways been rules designed to protect human health.The book of Leviticus in the Old Testament gives thefirst account of Environmental Health laws wherechapters 13 and 14 set out the procedures to deal withmildew on clothing and mildew in houses.From those biblical times, you can go through theages and find examples of Environmental Health inpractice. Its significance came to the forefront afterthe Industrial Revolution with the rapid expansion oftowns and cities and the burden that placed on livingand working conditions. Much of the resulting diseasein the 19th century prompted the public health reformmovement led by Edwin Chadwick. The work ofChadwick and his contemporaries culminated in thedevelopment of the Public Health legislation whichremained in force until the latter years of the 20thcentury.At this point it is worth reminding ourselves of thework commissioned by the Institute culminatingin the Old Report which defined EnvironmentalHealth as ‘that area of public health activity whichstrives to improve, protect and maintain health andwell-being through action on the physical environmentand on life circumstances’. It is accepted thatthis definition accurately describes the scope ofenvironmental health and reinforces that its raisond’être is in the improvement and protection ofpublic health.This is important! Whilst professionals workingwithin the field have always recognised themselvesas being part of the practice of public health, thesignificant public health role played by EnvironmentalHealth Officers has not generally been recognisedand appreciated by their local authority employers.That is not to say that their work has not beenacknowledged, but the problem arises if the roleof Environmental Health Officers is seen as beingsolely about the environment, without recognition ofthe impact environments can have on public health -even worse is the misconception that EnvironmentalHealth Officers simply enforce regulations.There are, of course, reasons for this unhelpfulposition. For instance, the word ‘environmental’ inisolation can give the wrong impression. We are notEnvironmental Officers, we are EnvironmentalHealth Officers. And also our association withregulatory services and the Hampton Review andBetter Regulation agenda can be misconstrued.Yes indeed, the practice of environmental healthhas a positive effect on the environment. However,it is the ability of the Environmental Health Officer(EHO) to recognise the public health implicationsof adverse environmental conditions and apply theinterventions to improve and protect public healthwhich are invaluable. It is the ability to take thisholistic view which sets EHOs apart from otherswho may be able to detect an environmental problembut do not have the knowledge to link it with potentialpublic health impacts. It is therefore little wonderthat we become increasingly frustrated that governmenthealth strategies recognise us as the only healthprofessionals working within local authorities, whilstour employers seem blissfully unaware of this fact.It should be emphasised that this position is notuniversal and that examples of good practice in termsof Community Health Partnerships and local authority/health board liaison do exist.It is therefore incumbent on all of us to be determinedto assert our public health credentials and not toaccept the status quo. We cannot blame others, andwe must influence the decision makers to ensure thatour contributions to the improvement and protectionof public health are duly recognised.
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