Welcome - 2013 year in review, July 2014

Health protection involves the prevention and control of threats to health from communicable diseases and the environment. In NSW in 2013, these functions were carried out by a range of groups, among them Health Protection NSW’s Communicable Diseases and Environmental Health Branches, the NSW Ministry of Health’s Population and Public Health Division, Public Health Units, clinicians, Local Health District services, local government, other government agencies, and communities.

 

This is the second of a two-part report in which we highlight the major health outcomes and achievements related to Health Protection NSW’s activities in 2013, including some examples of health protection projects from the field. 

In this Report we focus on environmental health activities. In June’s Health Protection Report we reported on some of the activities related to communicable disease surveillance, investigation, control and prevention.

 

Acknowledgments

Protecting the health of the community is a collaborative effort, involving Public Health Units, clinicians, laboratory scientists, affected communities and other government and community-based organisations. We thank all those involved for the role they played in NSW in 2013.