Yes – in the midst of all the uncertainty about at the moment and with changes and cutbacks on the horizon, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) has cause to be confident and optimistic about the future for public health and its members, environmental health practitioners (EHPs).
Listening to the news at times it is easy to get down – from predictions the Euro crisis can send us all back into recession, or even depression – to a prediction about a freezing winter.
Last week we had had a very successful meeting with Anne Milton, the public health minister. At this meeting the minister completely accepted the important role of EHPs in a new Public Health Service for England. Ms Milton, who is a former nurse with extensive experience working with environmental health practitioners, assured the CIEH that health protection and prevention will be at the heart of the new public health service.
We told her a well-funded and well resourced environmental health profession would save the NHS billions. We did express concern that local authority cutbacks were already resulting in significant redundancies in environmental health positions – this was even before the public spending cuts really begin to bite next year.
Ms Milton acknowledged that the profession will play a major role in the new public health service. The minister said that she wanted the CIEH and its members to take a leadership role in ensuring the success of the government's commitment to improve health and wellbeing. She reiterated that reducing social inequalities was essential to better health outcomes.
We thought this meeting was productive and fruitful. Ms Milton has an excellent understanding of the work of EHPs and accepts the preventative public health actions of EHPs will take the strain off the NHS.
We are all eagerly anticipating the launch tomorrow of the government's public health white paper for England. We have every intention to make a very robust and detailed formal response. We know we face challenging times ahead.
We are very concerned about the effect of cutbacks on our members and government decisions in regards to the future of the Health Protection Agency and the abolition of certain agencies - but we do need to take some comfort that we are now arguing our case from a position of influence and we have a minister who is ready to listen and take note.
• David Kidney is head of policy at the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health
