Effective Strategies and Interventions: environmental health and the private housing sector

Environmental Health Practitioners (EHP) and their colleagues routinely deliver high quality, partnership based strategies and interventions based on local evidence of how and why health inequalities pivoting around housing are being tackled. Working closely with partners in heath, social care and others EHPs have pioneered innovative solutions to meet local need. Already Joint Strategic Needs Assessment are taking housing – including private sector housing – into account in delivering increasingly more effective strategies and interventions where health and wellbeing outcomes have been factored in from early design stages of strategic development which are demonstrably cost-effective. At a time when we have to increasingly bid for and account for the work we do, establishing evidence of proactive and cost effective interventions will be more important than ever. In housing, we need to be able to demonstrate through research and evidence the importance and value of our work across a range of indicators and outcomes with our partners: improved housing and living conditions; community development, social capital and stability; cost effectiveness to the NHS and other public services; enhanced quality of life; reduction in home accidents; contribution to social care packages to those with in need; enhanced intervention packages for children or those discharged from hospital; to name but a few. The forthcoming changes to our public health system and the Health and Wellbeing Boards offer environmental health practitioners (EHPs) and their partnerships a new opportunity to demonstrate effective, evidence based, proactive and health informed strategies and interventions in the private housing sector