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A little over a fortnight ago, the House of Lords Select Committee
on Science and Technology reported on an inquiry into the
diagnosis, treatment, prevention and control of infectious
disease in the UK. Fighting infection accepts that we can
not conquer infection, but urges the Government to take steps
to ensure that we are better equipped to fight it.
Chair of the committee, Lord Soulsby, stressed when launching
the report that "control and prevention of infection
is not just the responsibility of the Government and doctors
- "everyone has a part to play." But what does this
mean for you? Well, while the report specifically calls on
the Government to address the shortage of environmental health
officers, who, it says, "are a vital component of controlling
infection", it does not offer any recommendations as
to just how this should be done.
Instead, the select committee simply draws attention to
the shortage of environmental health graduates; the trend
to new professionals finding employment outside of local authorities;
and the moves in some local authorities to replace chief environmental
health officers with directors of technical services, who
"may not have any understanding of environmental health
issues".
This report in itself may not be enough to actively push
the Government into taking the necessary steps to halt, or
indeed reverse, the decline in numbers of trained environmental
health officers working in local authorities, but it may encourage
a greater collaborative approach to health protection, which
is the focus of much of this month's issue.
The emergence of the Health Protection Agency has signalled
an important step change in terms of a partnership approach
to health protection in England and Wales, bringing together,
as it does, the expertise of a wide variety of health and
scientific professionals working in public health, communicable
disease, emergency planning, infection control, poisons and
chemical hazards. Nick Warburton looks at the issues surrounding
emergency planning and response, and highlights some of the
challenges local authorities face in leading the recovery
process. Then, he examines the role of environmental health
practitioners in the wider field of health protection and
talks to a number of professionals who have successfully made
the leap into the previously unknown.
Still on the theme of modernisation, the recent publication
of Professor Richard Macrory's report on the current form
of environmental regulation looks set to make some waves as
it puts forward a powerful argument for the establishment
of an environmental tribunal to handle regulatory appeals.
Julie Barratt examines the report's findings and recommendations,
vital reading for environmental health practitioners and those
practising in the field of environmental law.
Tracey Khanna
Editor
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