Environment and health, the Region’s commitment to strengthen prevention of environmental and climatic risks — Health

Vice-President Priolo and councilor Donini: “Ready for the challenge of breaking down disciplinary barriers for collective well-being”

February 21, 2023 – Look to the strategy “One-Health”identified as a priority target by the United Nations in 2008, the Regional Health Protection System (SRPS)formally established by Regional Council for the integrated management of problems relating to areas that until now have found it difficult to have structured relationships: environment, climate, human and animal health.

The system is designed for improve and harmonize implementation policies and strategies primary prevention (actions or interventions aimed at avoiding the onset of disease in healthy people) and the response of the Health Service to acute and chronic diseases – communicable and non-transmissible – associated with environmental risks.

Its primary task is to ensure the coordination and strengthening of theintegration of activities of local structures that operate to protect the collective health, respect to environmental and climate risks. In line with the national provisions that created the National Health Prevention System from environmental and climatic risks (SNPS).

In this process of change a fundamental role will be played by digitization and, in general, from the development and pooling of one new operating platform for data exchange which facilitate integrated reading to arrive at an overall risk assessment.

“It is a great step forward for health protection, an organizational innovation that makes it possible to make activities that are already carried out even more efficient, but which in this new method will ensure ever more punctual responses – underline the vice president in charge of the Environment , Irene Priolo, and the councilor for health policies, Raffaele Donini -. Environment and health are closely intertwined and it is from here that a new coordinated action starts. In this way we overcome institutional constraints and disciplinary and territorial barriers, going beyond the logic that saw health promotion as exclusive to the health sector, broadening the perspective to ensure collective well-being. This is the logic of the One-Health strategy, and it is in this direction that we intend to invest with determination”.

The Regional Health Protection System (SRPS) in Emilia-Romagna

The functions of the SRPS System of Emilia-Romagna are insured by Collective Prevention and Public Health Sector of the Region, with two other Regional General Directorates: Territorial and environmental care e Agriculture, hunting and fishing; besides the Departments of Public Health of Local Health Trusts e Arpae.

The SRPS system is completed by the laboratories of the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna, of the Institute for Scientific Hospitalization and Care (IRCCS) – University Hospital of Bologna (Occupational and environmental toxicology of Occupational Medicine and Microbiology Unit) and that of the local health authority of Romagna (UO Microbiology). To these public structures is added the Marine Research Center Foundation (CRM) of Cesenatico (FC).

The SRPS will operate in continuity with the Regional prevention plan 2021-2025, which expressly includes specifications or programs aimed at “protecting health from risk factors present in the environment” (both outdoors and indoors) and at “promoting projects/programmes to improve the environment and reduce the impact on health” .

The National Health Prevention System from environmental and climatic risks

It is one of the actions of reform of Mission 6 – Health of the PNRR, aimed at the “Definition of a new systemic institutional framework for prevention in the health, environmental and climate fields”, in line with an integrated approach (One Health). The implementation of this reform took place with the Decree Law of 30 April 2022, n. 36 (L. n. 79/22) establishing the SNPS and identifies, among other things, the functions and subjects that are part of it, expressly citing the Prevention Departments of the Ausl, the Regions, the Zooprophylactic Institutes, the Higher Institute of Health and the Ministry of Health. Its development is supported by the National Plan for Complementary Investments (PNC)which includes a specific investment relating to the “Health, Environment, Biodiversity and Climate” system.

In-depth information sheet on the Public Health Departments of Local Health Trusts (565.84 KB)