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The Public Health Association of Australia has welcomed the focus of this week鈥檚 Job and Skills Summit and the opportunity to address public health workforce shortages, but urged investment in and action on the to get the skills mix right.

鈥淭he health workforce is not just about those professionals who work in public hospitals within the health system,鈥� PHAA CEO Adj Prof Terry Slevin said.

鈥淭he Public Health workforce focuses on population-wide programs to promote health and wellbeing, as well as prevent diseases and many other threats to health.

鈥淚f the government wants to use the job summit to help tackle the many challenges facing the country, such as climate change, inequity and disadvantage, and economic wellbeing, it needs to invest in a sustainable public health workforce to make that happen.鈥�

PHAA has made several recommendations in its 2022鈥�23 Budget submission, , to strengthen the public health workforce.

鈥淭he pandemic has highlighted the state of public health infrastructure and the need to bolster the public health workforce capacity and systems, both nationally and at state and territory level. Building of the public health workforce is a clear and vital priority that must be urgently addressed,鈥� the submission said.

Recommendations include the development of a national public health workforce policy or plan that will strengthen public health and emergency capability in Australia, under the remit of the proposed Australian Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

A national Public Health Officer Training Program, like the program already provided in New South Wales, can be appropriately adapted to jurisdictional circumstances for immediate implementation by the Australian and state and territory governments.

鈥淲e cannot afford to ignore this category of specialist worker, who became so vital when the pandemic hit the fan,鈥� Slevin concluded.

Image credit: iStockphoto.com/Edwin Tan