In September 2002 the CIEH and the Health Development Agency published a vision statement for the development of environmental health over the next 10 years.
Environmental Health 2012 – A key partner in delivering the public health agenda projects a future in which the practice of environmental health is based on a modern health development agenda, best practice and evidence of what works.
It provides a scope of future environmental health practice:
The Scope of Environmental Health
It also provides a vision for the contribution of environmental health to public health in 2012:
- Environmental health practitioners, working with and alongside other public health professionals, will be key partners in local and national efforts to protect and improve the health and quality of the lives of individuals and communities, and to reduce health inequalities
- They will maintain a direct relationship with the general public, and apply their expertise in responding to the needs of individuals, while also tackling the wider determinants of the population’s health by identifying, controlling and preventing risks
- They will play lead roles in local authority development, co-ordination and implementation of community health and well-being strategies through local strategic partnerships, and will actively contribute to the public health agenda of the NHS primary care trusts. They will also contribute to tackling public health issues at regional, national and international levels.
