CT commits to improved environmental health through technology

Renay McPherson-Smith received the Outstanding Performance Award at the Institute of Environmental Health Conference

One of the key areas includes exploring technological innovations such as an electronic municipal health information management system.

"Our environmental health department staff are responsible for assessing, correcting, controlling and preventing those aspects in the environment that are detrimental to public health. They’re doing a very good job in spite of very real limitations, but there is always room for improvement. The management and sharing of information is crucial to any organisation. The city recently became the first in Africa to roll out Project EPIC, which is an integrated emergency and incident management system. I can already see the potential synergy and am excited about how we could possibly include health services in this," said the city’s mayoral committee member for safety and security, and social services, Alderman JP Smith.

Challenges facing the profession

The conference also deliberated on a number of challenges facing the profession, including the ratio of environmental health practitioners relative to the size of the population, the slow devolution of municipal health services from provincial health departments to municipalities, the placement of community services environmental health practitioners, and whether municipalities are prioritising equitable share from the National Treasury in addressing the limited resources for environmental health services.

Some of the draft resolutions were as follows:

• The South African Local Government Association, South African Institute of Environmental Health, and tertiary institutions to assist municipalities on developing evidence-based indicators to improve health outcomes.
• Improving the linkage between environmental health services and political decision-makers to ensure effective budgeting and ensuring that environmental health is included in the integrated development plans of municipalities.
• The National Department of Health to sensitise and assist municipalities in the implementation of environmental health norms and standards.
• Hosting a summit for academics to deal with environmental health issues e.g. community service placement, work-integrated learning, and curriculum development.

"Municipal health services are crucial yet woefully underfunded. We need to resolve the funding issue, but we also need to create greater public awareness about the work that our environmental health department does to safeguard communities and how communities unfortunately add to the environmental health burden. Illegal dumping, for example, is a massive problem in Cape Town. While our law enforcement staff are doing good work in fining wrongdoers and impounding trucks used in the act of dumping, the city spends far too much money cleaning up after dumpers and the environmental health practitioners are overrun with attending to the health hazards associated with dumping," added Smith.

Outstanding Performance Award

A city senior environmental health practitioner, Renay McPherson-Smith, was acknowledged at the Institute of Environmental Health Conference when she received the Outstanding Performance Award for her "outstanding contribution through exceptional diligence, personal sacrifice and enthusiasm to serve communities and general services of the Institute of Environmental Health". McPherson-Smith joined the City of Cape Town 10 years ago after beginning her career in the hospitality industry and having obtained her tertiary qualification in 1997. She delivers services to communities in the city’s Eastern Health Sub-district and is based in Kuils River.

"We are proud of the fact that the city was able to host this conference and we also congratulate Dr Selva Mudaly on being elected the next president of the International Federation of Environmental Health. This is truly a feather in the cap of the discipline in South Africa. Environmental health is at the forefront of creating conditions which ensure that our residents are healthier and that they live beyond 70 and the city will intensify its development of our environmental health department," said Smith.