EHJ February 2005, pages 22-23

This month CIEH chief executive Graham Jukes and his management team begin a road show of centres to expound the CIEH's vision for the future. In the first of a series of articles he explains the charity's role

Over the last year in my regular EHJ column I have been describing the challenges facing environmental health in the 21st century. The profile of environmental and public health is on the rise, the way it is being delivered is changing and the skills required of an aspiring EHP are different from those demanded 10 years ago. All these changes impact on the CIEH and the career opportunities and roles of EHPs, whether working in central or local government, the business and commercial sector, the NHS or the armed forces.

The CIEH has successfully ensured that the environmental health community can meet these challenges. We have lobbied government on key policy issues, introduced a new curriculum for environmental health degrees, promoted environmental health as an attractive career choice and achieved recognition of the valuable role played by the profession in improving public health.

Our research with members, employers and government has given us a further perspective on our work and what members and other stakeholders want to see from the CIEH. This has helped us determine how we will build on our past successes and continue to lead environmental health into the future.

The CIEH is unique in it represents all aspects of the environmental health community. This is one of our key strengths as well as something that is frequently forgotten. It means the CIEH can champion the environmental health community by seeing both the full strategic picture as well as interpreting the impact of events and decisions on the profession.

From this broad and unique view of environmental and public health our aim is to get the right information to the right people at the right time so they can make the right decisions.

Our key priorities include providing EHPs with the knowledge and professional expertise they need to do their jobs. Raising awareness with government, employers and the wider public of the important role EHPs play in keeping people safe and healthy. And lobbying government to encourage policy development based on a sound evidence base.

We must remember that other organisations deal with environmental health. Organisations like the Local Government Association, Lacors, the FSA, HSE and other NGOs such as the Chartered Institute of Housing, Sustain and the RSPCA. These are both stakeholders and partners who we will collaborate with to achieve our objectives.

To help us lead environmental health into the future, CIEH trustees have agreed four key aims for the charity, outlined below. In the following months CIEH directors will be writing in EHJ to set out how they and their teams will help achieve these goals in 2005 and beyond. This will include how our commercial activities will continue to make a significant difference to our activities and achievements.

1) To support our members by encouraging and demonstrating their contribution to improve environmental health

The CIEH will act as an advocate for the environmental health community at national, regional and local levels. Also, to strengthen the credibility of the profession, we will build the evidence base over the coming years and work with members to share best practice and develop our research activities.

2) To raise the status and understanding of environmental health with national, regional and local government, employers, the media, the public and other stakeholders

We will work to raise the status and value of environmental health, our members and practitioners in the eyes of the public, decision makers and importantly, with employers. The environmental health community's profile will be raised through campaigning, lobbying and sharing good practice.

The President's Commission is set to report this spring and will recommend how the CIEH can best position itself to champion the interests of environmental health in local and regional government.

3) To promote improvements in environmental health policy

We will continue to lobby government and other influencers. An example is the way we have influenced government over the Housing Act 2004 for over five years. We advised civil servants on the drafting of the bill, along with select committee MPs and lobbied MPs and members of the House of Lords to ensure the final act is workable for EHPs who have to enforce it.

We will also use conferences and other events to promote our policy positions with key influencers, including the media.

4) To ensure the high professional standards knowledge and competencies of environmental health practitioners are achieved and maintained

Here our focus will be on continual professional development, widening CIEH membership and greater access to courses - without compromising professional standards. We will gain recognition for our members and practitioners by promoting their contributions to improving health, and by maintaining high educational and professional standards. Professionally qualified practitioners are able to provide continuous improvements in environmental health for the benefit of the general public.

To lead environmental health we must have an organisational structure that works effectively and engages its members. We are awaiting responses to a membership consultation on the centre and branch review. These proposals include reducing the size of the CIEH council, the replacement of the current centres and branches with a structure based on the nine English government regions plus Wales and Northern Ireland. A further consideration is creating nationally-based special interest groups covering particular areas of environmental health.

While local government is still key to the delivery of environmental health we need to recognise that new agencies such as the Health Protection Agency, primary care trusts and regional government offices are emerging as new vehicles for delivering public health policies. With the FSA and the HSE also increasingly looking to the regions we must restructure to optimise our influence.

I would like to invite all members to learn more about what we will be doing to support them and achieve improvements in environmental health practice and its impact. CIEH directors, including the managing director of our commercial subsidiary, Chadwick House Group Limited, are visiting our centres in the coming months to explain the direction of the CIEH, and we hope to meet you at one of these Roadshow meetings. (See box for dates when we will be in your area).

Next month Michael Dunmore, director of communication and membership services, and Andrew Phillips, managing director of Chadwick House Group Limited, will explain how their teams are contributing to leading environmental health into the future.