Posts Tagged ‘Public health’

Hypocritical view of painkillers a pain in the neck

By Tom Goodfellow - 20th December 2011 8:49 pm

The old cervical spondylosis has been playing up recently, so while at my local Tesco I popped into the pharmacy to get a pack of my favourite pain killers. I find that a couple of Co-codamol usually does the trick. However the pharmacist evidently had other views.

“Have you taken these before?” I admitted that I had. “You know you are not supposed to take them for more than three days at a time.” I nodded.

“Are you taking any other medication?” I looked at the Christmas shoppers crowding around me and informed him that I was not too keen on discussing my medical history in public. “Well I can’t give these tablets to you unless I know”. I compromised by assuring him that I was not taking anything else containing paracetamol. But the interrogation continued.

“So why are you taking them?” Again aware of the growing interest around me I muttered that I had cervical spondylosis. “Can you speak up please?”

“Pain in the neck,” I shouted.

“So have you seen your doctor recently?” I answered in the negative, which was actually incorrect. The other weekend I bumped into him as he emerged from the local fish-and-chip shop with a guilty expression on his face; but I wasn’t going to tell this to the pharmacist.

“Well you really should see a doctor about this.” It was on the tip of my tongue to state the obvious, but I held back. I knew he would just respond by drawing himself up to his full five foot, four and tell me that I should know better!

“OK I will give them to you this time, but not in the future,” he finally conceded. At which point I totally lost my cool and advised him that he could shove his ruddy tablets up where the sun don’t shine, and that he was an arrogant, snotty-nosed little turd who should mind his own bloody business.

Well no, I didn’t say that, although I wanted to (Christian virtue can be so hard at times). I simply murmured my thanks and shuffled off, sensing his eyes boring malevolently into the back of my neck.

But as I turned the corner into the next aisle, before me was arrayed an endless vista of shelves loaded with every conceivable type of alcohol known to man. Wines, spirits, beers, liqueurs - like small children at a party all jumping up and down crying, “Chose me, chose me”. There was enough alcohol there to keep the England rugby team going for at least a week. So what will happen at the check-out?

“I see you are buying alcohol. Have you bought it before? Are you taking any other alcohol? You do know that you are only to take this in modest amounts? Why are you buying it, are you an alcoholic? Have you seen your doctor about this? I am not sure we should allow you to have this!”

Similarly the Christmas food: “I see you are buying double cream and full-fat soft cheese. Do you know this contains cholesterol which will block up your arteries causing your feet to go black, your heart to stop and your willy to shrivel up and fall off? Are you taking any other cholesterol? Have you seen your doctor about this?”

No of course that will not happen. On the contrary they will tempt you with half-price offers, BOGOF, slashed prices and giant economy multipacks. They will get local school kids (for charity) to help you pack it all and load it in your car. If you buy it on-line they will even deliver it to your house and load it into the fridge.

Not forgetting the packets of fags with their blunt mortality warnings Tesco are eager to sell us stuff which will pickle our liver, destroy our lungs, rot our brain and clog up our arteries without a qualm. Yet ask for a small packet of pain killers and sirens wail, alarms flash, security guards rush up and a big man with a taser gun says: “You want to buy what! Are you mad? Don’t you know that this stuff can be harmful if you take it for more than three days? Have you seen your doctor?”

Ah well, so much for the Nanny State.

Have a merry low-cholesterol Christmas and a very sober but happy New Year.

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Public health funds could be “raided to fill potholes”

BBC Health - 2nd November 2011 8:51 pm

Cash-strapped councils may raid health budgets to pay for basic services such as filling potholes, MPs are warning.

Local government is due to take charge of schemes to tackle lifestyle problems like obesity and excess drinking from 2013 under the shake-up of the NHS. To pay for projects, money will be transferred from the NHS.

But the Health Committee said there was a risk councils would play the system and use the funds for other purposes - something denied by town hall bosses.

Tackling public health problems is currently the responsibility of primary care trusts.

But within two years more than 150 directors of public health will move into local government, taking a pot of money - widely expected to be about £4bn - with them. To ensure it is spent on health-related projects, the government has agreed to ring-fence the money.

Read more at BBC Health.

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Letter from public health doctors criticising the Health Bill

By Mike Broad - 4th October 2011 11:14 am

The following letter appeared in the Daily Telegraph this week criticising the Health and Social Care Bill:

Dear Sir,

As public health doctors and specialists from within the NHS, academia and elsewhere, we write to express our concerns about the Health and Social Care Bill.

The Bill will do irreparable harm to the NHS, to individual patients and to society as a whole. It ushers in a significantly heightened degree of commercialisation and marketisation that will fragment patient care; aggravate risks to individual patient safety; erode medical ethics and trust within the health system; widen health inequalities; waste much money on attempts to regulate and manage competition; and undermine the ability of the health system to respond effectively and efficiently to communicable disease outbreaks and other public health emergencies.

While we welcome the emphasis placed on establishing a closer working relationship between public health and local government, the proposed reforms as a whole will disrupt, fragment and weaken the country’s public health capabilities.

The government claims that the reforms have the backing of the health professions. They do not. Neither do they have the general support of the public.

It is our professional judgement that the Health and Social Care Bill will erode the NHS’s ethical and cooperative foundations and that it will not deliver efficiency, quality, fairness or choice. We therefore request that you reject passage of the Health and Social Care Bill.

Yours sincerely,

Dr John Middleton

Senior NHS Director of Public Health

Dr Paul Edmondson-Jones MBE

Director of Public Health, NHS Portsmouth

Professor Sir Michael Marmot, KBE

University College London

Professor Sir Andy Haines, KBE

Professor of Public Health & Primary Care, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Professor Martin McKee, CBE

Professor of European Public Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Professor Allyson Pollock

Professor of Public Health Research and Policy, Queen Mary, University of London

Dr Bobbie Jacobson, OBE

NHS Public Health Consultant

Professor John R Ashton, CBE

Direct of Public Health, Cumbria

Professor Rosalind Raine

Professor of Health Care Evaluation, University College London

Professor Alan Maryon-Davis

Hon Professor of Public Health, Kings College London and Immediate Past President of the UK Faculty of Public Health

Dr David McCoy

Associate Director of Public Health, Inner North West London PCT

Jo Abbott

Consultant in Public Health, NHS Rotherham

Dr Sushma Acquilla

International Faculty Advisor, UK Faculty of Public Health and Honorary Senior Lecturer, Imperial College London

Dr John Acres

Head of the School of Public Health, Wessex Deanery

Dr Mayada Abu Affan

Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Dudley PCT

Dr Nicholas Aigbogun

Specialty Registrar in Public Health, Health Protection Agency West Midlands

Professor Priscilla Alderson

Professor Emerita of Childhood Studies, Institute of Education, University of London

Dr Rob Aldridge

Academic Clinical Fellow (Public Health), University College London

Dr Kirsty Alexander

Public Health Directorate, Gloucestershire PCT

Dr Martin Allaby

NHS Consultant in Public Health

Ben Anderson

Acting Consultant in Public Health, NHS Sheffield

Dr Elspeth Anwar

Public Health Registrar, Mersey Deanery

Dr Ike Anya

Consultant in Public Health Medicine

Charlotte Ashton

Public Health Specialty Registrar in London

Professor John R Ashton, CBE

Director of Public Health, Cumbria

Matthew Ashton

Assistant Director of Public Health, NHS Knowsley

Dr Esther Aspinall

Specialist Registrar in Public Health, West of Scotland

Dr Daphne Austin

Chair of the UK Commissioning Public Health Network

Dr Ishraga Awad

Consultant in Public Health Medicine

Dr Sallie Bacon

Associate Director of Public Health, Hampshire

Dr M R Bahl

Consultant in Public Health & Communicable Disease Control (retired)

Dr Simon Balmer

Consultant in Public Health Medicine

Dr Helen Barratt

Research Training Fellow, Public Health Specialist Registrar, University College London

Prof Mel Bartley

Director of the ESRC International Centre for Life Course Studies, University College London

Dr Subhashis Basu

Specialist Registrar in Public Health and Accident & Emergency, NHS Rotherham and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals

Dr Alison Bell

Consultant in Public Health, NHS Wiltshire

Dr Paul Batchelor

Consultant in Dental Public Health, Thames Valley and Senior Lecturer, UCL

Dr John Battersby

Medical Director, Eastern Region Public Health Observatory

Jackie Beavington

Associate Director of Public Health

Dr Charles R Beck

Specialty Registrar in Public Health

Jane Beenstock

Specialty Registrar, NHS County Durham and NHS Darlington

Dr Ruth Bell

Clinical Senior Lecturer/Honorary NHS Consultant in Public Health, Newcastle University

Professor Yoav Ben-Shlomo

Professor in Clinical Epidemiology, University of Bristol

Helen Bewsher

Public Health Intelligence Specialist, NHS Kirklees

Dr Sohail Bhatti

Interim Director of Public Health Medicine, NHS East Lancashire

Professor Raj Bhopal CBE

Professor of Public Health, University of Edinburgh

Amy Bird

Specialty Registrar Public Health, London, Kent, Surrey and Sussex

Dr Christopher A Birt

Senior Research Fellow, NHS Public Health Physician, Liverpool

Andrew Boddy

Director (retired), Public Health Research Unit, University of Glasgow

Sarah Bowman

Specialty Registrar Public Health, NHS Tees

Dr Ian Brown

Specialty Registrar in Public Health, NHS Hertfordshire

Dr Claire Bradford

NHS Consultant in Public Health Medicine

Dr Fiona Bragg

Specialty Registrar Public Health

Professor Carol Brayne

Professor of Public Health Medicine, University of Cambridge

Professor John Britton

Professor of Epidemiology, University of Nottingham

Dr Helen Bromley

Division of Public Health and Policy, University of Liverpool

Jilla Burgess-Allen

Specialty Registrar, Public Health, Derbyshire County PCT

Julia Burrows

Consultant in Public Health, NHS Bradford and Airedale

Dr Jenny Bywaters

Senior Public Mental Health Adviser, Department of Health (retired)

Dr Nigel Calvert

Associate Director of Public Health, NHS Cumbria

Dr Corinne Camilleri-Ferrante

Consultant in Public Health Medicine and Head of School of Public Health

Professor Simon Capewell

Professor of Clinical Epidemiology, University of Liverpool

Professor Francesco Cappuccio

Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine & Epidemiology, Warwick Medical School

Dr Robin Carlisle

Consultant in Public Health, NHS Rotherham

Dr Marie Casey

Specialty Registrar in Public Health

Dr Jacky Chambers

Director of Public Health, Heart of Birmingham PCT

Dr Jennifer Champion

Acting Consultant in Public Health, NHS Forth Valley

Dr David Chappel

Assistant Director, North East Public Health Observatory

Hannah Chellaswamy

Deputy Director of Public Health, NHS Sefton & Training Programme Director, Cheshire & Merseyside, NW School of Public Health

Professor Aileen Clarke

Professor of Public Health & Health Services Research, Warwick Medical School

Professor Stephen Clift

Professor of Health Education, Canterbury Christ Church University

Dr RA Coates

Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Southampton City PCT

Prof Michel P Coleman

Professor of Epidemiology and Vital Statistics, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Katherine Conlon

Speciality Registrar in Public Health, NHS South Gloucestershire

Specialty Registrar in Public Health, Knowsley PCT

Dr Joanna Copping

NHS Consultant in Public Health Medicine

Dr Gary Cook

Consultant Epidemiologist, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust

Professor Derek Cook

Professor of Epidemiology, St George’s, University of London

Dr Emer Coffey

Consultant in Public Health, Liverpool PCT

Ellen Cooper

Public Health Specialist, NHS Stockport

Mary Corcoran

Consultant in Public Health, NHS Nottinghamshire County

Jonathan Cox

Specialty Registrar in Public Health, Norwich Medical School

Maureen Crawford

Director of Public Health, Sunderland Teaching Primary Care Trust/Sunderland City Council

Dr Tricia Cresswell

Consultant in Health Protection, Health Protection Agency/Deputy Medical Director, NHS North East

Dr James Crick

Specialty Registrar in Public Health, Yorkshire and Humber Deanery

Denis Cronin

Public Health Consultant, NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly

Professor Ann Crosland

Professor of Nursing and Public Health Lead, University of Sunderland

Dr Elizabeth Crowe

Specialty Registrar in Public Health, SE Scotland

Dr June Crown, OBE

Former President, United Kingdom Faculty of Public Health

Professor Steven Cummins

Professor of Urban Health & NIHR Senior Fellow, Queen Mary University of London

Sarah Cuthberson

Specialty Registrar in Public Health, South Yorkshire Health Protection Unit

Dr Fiona Day

Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Sheffield PCT

Valerie Delpech

Consultant Epidemiologist Health Protection Agency

Prof Elaine Denny

Professor of Health Sociology, Birmingham City University

Martin Dockrell

Fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health

Dr Hiten Dodhia

NHS Public Health Consultant, Lambeth PCT

Professor Danny Dorling

Professor of Human Geography, University of Sheffield

Dr Flora Douglas

Lecturer in Health Promotion, University of Aberdeen/NHS Grampian

Dr Peter Draper

Freelance health policy analyst

Dr Julian Elston

Consultant in Public Health, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly PCT

Barry Evans

Consultant Epidemiologist

Professor David Evans

Professor in Health Services Research, University of the West of England

Dr Jamie Fagg

Research Associate in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, UCL Institute of Child Health

Andrea Fallon

Consultant in Public Health, NHS Oldham

Dr Tracey Farragher

Senior Research Fellow, Academic Unit of Public Health, University of Leeds

Dr Jill Farrington

Consultant in Public Health Medicine, NHS Calderdale

Dr Greg Fell

Consultant in Public Health, NHS

Natalie Field

Public Health Consultant, South Gloucestershire

Dr Richard Fielding

Professor of Medical Psychology in Public Health, University of Hong Kong

Dr Tim Fielding

Public Health Registrar

Dr Alastair Fischer

Health Economist, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)

Paul Fisher

Specialty Registrar in Public Health, West Midlands East Health Protection Unit

Dr Julian Flowers

Director, East of England Regional Public Health Observatory

Dr Alison Forrester

Clinical Advisor to NHS North Yorkshire and York

Kirsten Foster

Health Improvement Practitioner Advanced, Kirklees PCT

David Foxcroft, Prof of Community Psychology and Public Health, Oxford Brookes University

Sue Frossell

Consultant in Public Health (Health Protection and Improvement), NHS Milton Keynes

Dr Tom Fryers

Hon. Professor of Public Mental Health, University of Leicester

Dr Alison Furey

Independent Public Health Consultant

John Gabbay

Emeritus Professor, University of Southampton

Dr Linda Garvican

QA Director, Cancer Screening Programmes, NHS South East Coast

Dr Alexander Gatherer

Former Director of Public Health, Oxford

Dr Katie Geary

Consultant in Communicable Disease Control, Health Protection Agency East Midlands

Dr Ivan Gee

Senior Lecturer in Public Health, Liverpool John Moores University

Dr Steve George

Reader in Public Health, University of Southampton

Dr Daniel Gibbons

NIHR Doctoral Research Fellow, School of Public Health, Imperial College London

Professor Ruth Gilbert

Professor of Clinical Epidemiology and Director of the Centre for Evidence-based Child Health, University College London - Institute of Child Health

Professor Anna Gilmore

Professor of Public Health, University of Bath

Dr Suzanne Gilman

Public Health Speciality Registrar, NHS Central Lancashire

Dr Michelle Gillies

Specialist Registrar Public Health and Clinical Lecturer Chronic Disease Epidemiology

Dr Jay Ginn

Visiting Professor, Institute of Gerontology, Kings College London

Professor Michael Goldacre

Professor of Public Health, University of Oxford

Chris Godfrey

Consultant in Public Health, Solihull Primary Care Trust

Sara Godward

Locum Consultant in Public Health

Dr Paula Grey

Joint Director of Public Health, Liverpool PCT/Liverpool City Council

Professor Selena Grey

Prof of Public Health, University of the West of England

Dr Carl Griffin

NHS Consultant in Public Health Medicine

Professor Rod Griffiths CBE

Former President, Faculty of Public Health

Sarah Johnson Griffiths

Consultant in Public Health, NHS Western Cheshire

Professor Sian Griffiths, OBE

Former President of the Faculty of Public Health

Rachael Gosling

Locum Consultant in Public Health, Liverpool Community Health NHS Trust

Dr Hilary Guite

Director Public Health and Well-being, NHS Greenwich

Dr Fay Haffenden

Consultant in Public Health Children & Health Inequalities, NHS Cambridgeshire

Professor Sir Andy Haines

Professor of Public Health and Primary Care, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Dr Jennifer Hall

Public Health Specialty Registrar, London

Tom Hall

Specialty Registrar in Public Health

Mr John Hampson

Public Health Specialist, NHS Western Cheshire

Wendy Hannon

Public Health Commissioning Manager, Plymouth PCT

Dr Maggie Harding

NHS Consultant in Public Health (Medicine)

Dr Andrew Harmer

Honorary Lecturer in Public Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Dr Ruth Harrell

Specialty Registrar in Public Health, West Midlands

Lynda Harris

Director of Public Health, Wales

Dr Shamil Haroon

Public Health Registrar, Sandwell PCT

Professor Stephen Harrison

Honorary Professor of Social Policy, University of Manchester

Dr Wayne Harrison

Consultant in Public Health

Martin Hawkings

Consultant in Public Health Medicine, NHS North Yorkshire and York

Hazel Henderson

Consultant in Public Health

Alan Higgins

Director of Public Health, Oldham

Dr Christine Hill

Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Cambridge

Dr Christine E Hine

Head of School & Training Programme Director, SW Public Health Specialty Training Programme and Consultant in Public Health, NHS Bristol & NHS S Gloucs

Julie Hirst

Public Health Specialist, NHS Derbyshire County

Dr Sue Hogarth

Public Health Specialty Registrar, University College London

Dr Jason Horsley

Specialty Registrar in Public Health Medicine / Honorary Clinical Lecturer

Dr Anita Houghton

Consultant in Public Health, London

Professor Walter W Holland, CBE

LSE Health and Social Care, London School of Economics

Dr Peter Horby

Senior Clinical Research Fellow, University of Oxford

Julie Hotchkiss

NHS Consultant in Public Health, Wigan

Dr Rob Howard

NHS Public Health Specialty Registrar

Dr Jonathan Howell

Consultant in Public Health, West Midlands Specialised Commissioning Team

Clare Humphreys

Specialty Registrar in Public Health, NHS Yorkshire and the Humber

Professor David Hunter

Professor of Health Policy and Management, Durham University

Louise Hurst

Public Health Specialty Registrar, University College London

Dr Sandra Husbands

NHS Consultant Public Health Medicine

Dr Sabina Fatima Hussain

Specialist Registrar in Public Health

Jan Hutchinson

Director of Public Health

Paul Iggulden

Independent Public Health Specialist

Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu

Consultant Epidemiologist, Health Protection Agency

Kathryn Ingold

Public Health Speciality Registrar, Leeds

Dr Maggie Ireland

North East Public Health Doctor

Dr Helene Irvine

Consultant in Public Health Medicine, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

Dr Richard Jarvis

Consultant in Communicable Disease Control and Public Health Medicine, NHS Merseyside

Charlotte Jeavons

Programme Leader, Public Health, University of Greenwich

Dr Anna Jones

Teaching fellow at Brighton and Sussex Medical School

Margaret Jones

Consultant in Public Health, NHS Sefton

Lesley Jones

Deputy Director Public Health, NHS Bolton

Professor Frank Kee

UKCRC Centre of Excellence, Queens University Belfast

Dr Gifford Kerr

Consultant in Public Health, NHS Blackburn with Darwen

Dr Anuj Kapilashrami

Lecturer Global Public, University of Edinburgh

Dr S Vittal Katikireddi

Clinical Research Fellow, MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit & Specialty Registrar in Public Health Medicine, NHS Lothian

Dr Marko Kerac

Specialty Registrar & Academic Clinical Fellow, Public Health

Dr Mark Lambert

NHS Consultant in Public Health Medicine

Professor Tim Lang

School of Health Sciences, City University London

Dr Rajalakshmi Lakshman

Clinical Scientist and Honorary Consultant in Public Health, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge

Dr Bruce Laurence

Acting Director of Public Health for Derbyshire

David Lawrence

Consultant in Public Health, NHS SE London

Mike Leaf

Acting Director of Public Health, NHS North Lancashire

Ben Leaman

Specialist Public Health Registrar, Yorks & Humber

Dr Conan Leavey

Senior Lecturer Public Health, Liverpool John Moores University

Dr Joyce Leeson

Retired Senior Lecturer in Public Health, Manchester University.

Dr Nicholas Leigh-Hunt

Public Health Registrar, NHS Leeds

Professor David Leon

Professor of Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Valerie Little

Director of Public Health, Dudley

Mary Lyons

Public Health Specialist, NHS Central Lancashire

John Lucy

Associate Director of Public Health, Liverpool Primary Care Trust

Dr Helen Maguire

Health Protection Agency, London

Dr GJ MacArthur

Academic Public Health Training Fellow, University of Bristol

Professor Alison Macfarlane

Professor of Perinatal Health, City University London

Dr Frances MacGuire

Specialist Registrar, Public Health

Dr Paul Madill

Specialty Registrar in Public Health, NHS South of Tyne and Wear

Dr Alexis Macherianakis

Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Sandwell PCT

Shepherd Masara

Associate member of the Faculty of Public Health

Dr Mashbileg Maidrag

Consultant in Public Health, NHS Suffolk/Suffolk County Council

Alan Maryon-Davis

Hon Professor of Public Health, Kings College London and Immediate Past President of the UK Faculty of Public Health

Dr Christina Maslen

Clinical Effectiveness Lead, Public Health Directorate, NHS Bristol

Dr Rebecca Mason

Specialty Registrar (Public Health), Mersey Deanery

Sue Matthews

Public Health Specialty Registrar, Hertfordshire PCT

Dr Eleni Maunder

Retired Senior Lecturer in Nutrition, Bournemouth University

Janet Maxwell

Director of Public Health, NHS Berkshire West

Dr Melanie Maxwell

Associate Medical Director and Public Health Specialist, Wirral University Teaching Hospital

Dr Gerry McCartney

Public Health Consultant, NHS Health Scotland

David McConalogue

Speciality Registrar in Public Health

Amy McCullough

Public Health Specialty Registrar

Professor James McEwen

Emeritus Professor in Public Health, University of Glasgow

Lynne McNiven

Public Health Consultant, Assistant Director of Public Health, NHS Lincolnshire

Dr Sarah McNulty

Assistant Director of Public Health, Quality and Health Protection, NHS Knowsley

Professor Klim McPherson

Visiting Professor of Public Health Epidemiology, University of Oxford

Dr Jeff Mecaskey

Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health

Elaine Michel

Interim Director of Public Health, NHS Tameside & Glossop

Professor Susan Michie

Professor of Health Psychology, University College London

Dr John Middleton

Senior NHS Director of Public Health

Dr May Moonan

Clinical Lecturer in Public Health Medicine and NICE Scholar/Specialty Registrar in Public Health, University of Liverpool

Professor Robert Moore

School of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology, University of Liverpool

Dr Gemma Morgan

Academic Public Health Training Fellow, University of Bristol

Maria Morgan

Lecturer in Dental Public Health, Cardiff University School of Dentistry

Dr Andrew Mortimore

Director of Public Health, Southampton

Dr Anna Morris

Specialty Registrar in Public Health, NHS Hampshire

Maggi Morris

Director of Public Health, Central Lancashire

Aldo Mussi

Senior Lecturer in Public Health, Birmingham City University

Dr Bernadette Nazareth

Consultant in Communicable Disease Control, HPA Norfolk Suffolk and Cambridgeshire

Prof Angus Nicoll

Former director, Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, Health Protection Agency

Dr Rory O’Conor

Consultant in Public Health, Wakefield PCT & YHPHO

Claire O’Donnell

Clinical Effectiveness Specialist in Public Health, North West Specialised Commissioning Team

John O’Dowd

Consultant Public Health Physician (Child Health), NHS Scotland

Professor Eileen O’Keefe

Professor of Public Health, London Metropolitan University

Dr Donal O’Sullivan

Consultant in Public Health Medicine, NHS South East London

Dr Ifeoma Onyia

Public Health Physician

James Lindley Owen

NHS Consultant in Public Health

Dr Kishor Padki

Consultant in Public Health Medicine, NHS South West Essex

Dr Arun Patel

Associate Director of Public Health, South West Essex PCT

Dr Matthieu Pegorie

Specialty Registrar in Public Health, NHS Trafford

Dr David Pencheon

Director, NHS Sustainable Development Unit, England

Sarah Phillips

Public Health Intelligence Analyst, NHS South Gloucestershire

Professor Kate Pickett

Professor of Epidemiology, University of York

Dr Mary Pierce

Clinical Epidemiologist, MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing

Dr David Pitches

Locum Consultant in Public Health, NHS Walsall

Professor Tanja Pless-Mulloli

Institute of Health and Society, Newcastle University

Dr George Pollock

Honorary Senior Research Fellow, University of Birmingham

Professor Jennie Popay

Professor of Sociology and Public Health, Lancaster University

Dr Debora Price

Senior Lecturer, Gerontology, King’s College London

Alison Pritchard

Consultant in Public Health, Derbyshire County PCT

Dr Angela E Raffle

Consultant in Public Health, Bristol

Professor Rosalind Raine

Professor of Health Care Evaluation, University College London

Thara Raj

NHS Public Health Manager

Dr Giri Rajaratnam

Deputy RDPH, East Midlands NHS

Professor Salman Rawaf

Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Public Health Education, Imperial College London

Mr Abdul Razzaq

Joint Director of Public Health and Senior NHS Public Health Consultant

Dr Arif Rajpura

Director of Public Health, NHS Blackpool

Dr Boika Rechel

Clinical Lecturer in Public Health and Honorary Consultant in Public Health Medicine, University of East Anglia

Dr Paul Redgrave

Consultant Public Health

Professor Margaret Reid

Professor Emeritus, Public Health, University of Glasgow

Dr Mark Reilly

Assistant Director Public Health Intelligence, NHS Tees

Becky Reynolds

Speciality Registrar in Public Health, Yorkshire and Humber Deanery

Professor Jammi Rao

Visiting Professor in Public Health, Staffordshire University

Prof Jennifer Roberts

Prof Emeritus in Economics of Public Health, LSHTM

Dr Heather Roberts

Director of Postgraduate Education, School of Community Health Sciences, City Hospital, Nottingham

Professor Paul Roderick

Professor of Public Health, University of Southampton

Helen Ross

Hon Member of the Faculty of Public Health

David Ross

Consultant Public Health Medicine

Dr Eleanor Rutter

Public Health Specialist Registrar, NHS Sheffield

Prof Harry Rutter

Director, National Obesity Observatory

Dr Alison Rylands

Director of Public Health, North West Specialised Commissioning Team

Dr Vanessa Saliba

Public Health Specialty Registrar, Department of Health Services Research and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Martin Schweiger

Consultant in Communicable Disease Control, West Yorkshire Health Protection Unit

Dr Sonya Scott

Specialty Registrar in Public Health Medicine

Dr Alex Scott-Samuel

Senior Clinical Lecturer in Public Health, University of Liverpool

Dr Anjila Shah

Consultant in Public Health, NHS Sefton

Professor Prakash Shetty

Professor of Public Health Nutrition, Southampton University

Dr Mohit Sharma

Specialty Registrar in Public Health, Oxford Deanery and University of Oxford

Dr Sally Sheard

Senior Lecturer in History of Medicine, University of Liverpool

Jessica Sheringham

Specialty Registrar in Public Health, North London

Dr Khesh Sidhu

NHS Consultant in Public Health Medicine

Professor Peter Sims

Honorary Teaching Fellow, Peninsula Medical School

Dr Katherine Smith

Lecturer in Global Public Health, University of Edinburgh

Professor Alwyn Smith, CBE

Past President, Faculty of Public Health

Dr Jenifer Smith

Director of Public Health and Chief Medical Advisor, Isle of Wight NHS PCT

Victoria Smith

Health Improvement Officer, Blaby District Council

Dr Tasmin Sommerfield

Consultant in Public Health, NHS Lanarkshire

Dr Rosamund Southgate

Public Health Specialty Registrar, Oxford Deanery

Dr Dan Seddon

NHS Public Health Consultant and Public Health Educator

Dr Ruth Stern

Honorary Visiting Fellow, London Metropolitan University

Dr Alex Stewart, Consultant in Communicable Disease Control, Cheshire & Merseyside Health Protection Unit

Professor Tony Stewart

Professor in Public Health / NHS Consultant in Public Health, Staffordshire University

Dr Alex Stirling

Specialty Registrar in Public Health, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

Dr Ljuba Stirzaker

Consultant in Public Health Medicine, NHS Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Cluster

Laura Stroud

Lecturer in Public Health, University of Leeds

Dr Graham Sutton

Consultant in Communicable Disease Control, Leeds

Professor Stephanie Taylor

Professor in Public Health and Primary Care, Queen Mary University of London

Dr David Taylor-Robinson

Clinical Lecturer in Public Health, University of Liverpool

Alison Tennant

Specialist in Pharmaceutical Public Health, NHS Dudley

Sarah Theaker

Specialty Registrar in Public Health, NHS Nottinghamshire County

Richard Thomson

Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health, Newcastle University

Martin Tobin

Professor of Genetic Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Leicester

Dr Daniel Todkill

SpR in Public Health Medicine

Julie Tolhurst

Health Improvement Practitioner, Public Health Directorate, NHS Kirklees

Dr Caroline Tomes

Public Health Specialty Registrar, NHS Cambridgeshire

Dr John Tomlinson

Deputy DPH, NHS Nottinghamshire and FPH East Midlands Local Board Representative

Dr Paul S Turner

NHS Consultant in Public Health

Pat Turton

Senior Lecturer, University of the West of England

Linda Turner

Consultant in Public Health, NHS Sefton

Paul Turner

Consultant in Public Health, NHS Ashton, Leigh and Wigan

Ruth Twiggins

Head of Public Health: Health Inclusion Team, NHS Wakefield District

Louise Unsworth,

NHS Public Health Consultant, North East Public Health Observatory

Emily van de Venter

Public Health Speciality Registrar

Professor Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health School of Health & Social Care, Bournemouth University

Dr Marie-Noelle Vieu

Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health

Dr Rebecca Wagstaff

Deputy Director of Public Health, NHS Cumbria

Dr Andy Wakeman

Senior NHS Public Health Consultant

Alice Walsh

Deputy Director of Public Health, NHS Gloucestershire

Sue Wardle

Public Health Specialist, South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust

Professor Richard G Watt

Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, UCL

Dr Joanna Watson

Unemployed Public Health doctor, Leicester

Dr Helen Webster

Speciality Registrar in Public Health, West Midlands

Sarah Weld

Public Health Specialty Registrar, NHS Wiltshire

Dr Jane Wells

NHS Public Health Physician, Oxford

Professor Robert West

Director of Tobacco Research, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London

Dr Ben Wheeler

Research Fellow, European Centre for Environment & Human Health

Professor Peter Whincup

Professor of Epidemiology, University of London

Professor Martin White

Professor of Public Health, Institute of Health & Society, Newcastle University

Professor Margaret Whitehead

Professor of Public Health, University of Liverpool

Dr Lisa Wilkins

Consultant in Public Health Medicine, NHS Oldham

Dr Ewan Wilkinson

NHS Public Health physician, Liverpool

Professor John Wilkinson

Professor of Public Health, Durham University

Professor Charles Wolfe

Professor of Public Health, King’s College London

Dr Ingrid Wolfe

Child Public Health Research Fellow and Paediatrician

Dr Fiona Wright

Assistant Director of Public Health, Haringey

Huda Yusuf

Specialist Registrar Dental Public Health, North West & North Central London Primary Care Trusts

Dr Helen Zealley, OBE

Former Director of Public Health, NHS Lothian

Dr Rosemary Millar

Specialty Trainee in Public Health, NHS Tayside

Jay Succaram

Senior Lecturer, College of Nursing, Midwifery and Healthcare, University of West London

Dr Rachel Thorpe

Specialty Registrar in Public Health, NHS Lanarkshire

Dr Celia Duff

Specialty Training Programme Director, East of England

Dominic Mellon

Specialty Registrar - Public Health, South West Public Health Training Programme

Helene Denness

Specialty Registrar in Public Health, Babington Hospital

Dr Ayoola Oyinloye

Consultant in Public Health Medicine, NHS Swindon

Dr Ardiana Gjini

Consultant in Public Health Medicine, NHS Bristol and NHS North Somerset

Dr Hynek Pikhart

Senior Lecturer in Epidemiology, University College London

Dr Joshna Ahir

Specialty Registrar in Public Health, Yorkshire and The Humber

Dr Nora Pashayan

Senior Clinical Lecturer in Applied Health Research, University College London

Shaukat Ali

Public Health Specialist, Sandwell Primary Care Trust

Julie George

NIHR Doctoral Fellow, University College London

Dr Andy Liggins

Director of Public Health, Peterborough

Dr Tasmin Sommerfield

Consultant in Public Health, NHS Lanarkshire

Dr Rosemary Millar

Specialty Trainee in Public Health, NHS Tayside

Professor Eileen Kaner

Director of the Institute of Health and Society and Professor of Public Health Research, Newcastle University

Dr Alison McCallum

Director of Public Health and Health Policy, NHS Lothian

Dr Eleanor Hill

Public Health Specialist, Stockport PCT

Kevin Elliston

Interim Associate Director of Public Health and Visiting Professor in Public Health, NHS Plymouth

Dr Jo Williams

Specialty Registrar in Public Health, NHS Bristol

Dr Merav Kliner

SpR Public Health, Yorkshire and Humber

Jan van der Meulen

Professor of Clinical Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Dr Lynne Hamilton

SpR in Public Health Medicine, Tayside NHS Board Public Health

Carl Mackie

Advanced Health Improvement Practitioner, Huddersfield

Veronica Killen

Senior Lecturer in Public Health, Northumbria University

Helen McAuslane

Public Health Specialty Registrar, Leeds

Anna Middlemiss

Specialty Registrar in Public Health

Elisabeth Smart

Consultant in Public Health, Dumfries

Dr Jane Bethea

Specialty Registrar in Public Health

Rachel Sokal

Public Health Specialty Registrar, NHS Derbyshire County

Lucy Douglas-Pannett

Public Health Specialty Registrar, NHS Leicester City

Dr Sakthi Karunanithi

Specialist Registrar in Public Health, NHS North Lancashire/NHS North West

Dr Brijender Rana

Consultant Public Health, SEC Specialised Commissioning Group

Dr Pratibha Datta

Consultant in Public Health, Outer North East London (ONEL)

Dr Jennifer Mindell

Clinical Senior Lecturer, University College London

Dr Amina Aitsi-Selmi

Specialist Registrar in Public Health, London

Jo Peden

Public Health Specialty Registrar, South West (North) Health Protection Unit

Dr Imogen Stephens

Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Solutions for Public Health, Oxford

Stephen Turnbull

Assistant Director of Public Health, NHS Barnsley / Barnsley MBC

Jonathan Gribbin

NHS Consultant in Public Health

Dr Kate Ardern

NHS Senior Public Health Consultant

Catherine Chiang,

Consultant in Public Health Medicine, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

Dr Olusola Aruna

Consultant in Public Health Medicine, NHS Gloucestershire

Professor Ian Watt

Professor of Primary and Community Care/Hull York Medical School

Dr Nigel Field

Academic Clinical Lecturer, University College London

Dan Seddon

NHS Halton and St Helens / Merseyside and Cheshire Cancer Network

Gaynor Scholefield

Public Health Manager, NHS Calderdale

Prof. Rod Thomson

Director of Public Health, Shropshire County PCT

D r Katherine Russell

Specialty Registrar in Public Health, NHS North Central London

Dr Angela Bhan

Director of Public Health, Managing Director - Bromley BSU

Abigail Knight

Specialty Registrar in Public Health, NHS Camden

Dr Lucy Reynolds

Consultant Paediatrician, Maternal and Child Public Health Team, NHS

Greater Glasgow and Clyde

Dr Tim Daniel

Consultant in Public Health

Dr Julian Mallinson

Consultant in Public Health

Dr Mike McHugh

Consultant in Public Health

Glenda Augustine

Specialist Trainee in Public Health

Sue Weaver

Public Health Manager, NHS Gloucestershire

Dr Stephen Watkins

Director of Public Health, NHS Stockport

Dr Sian Williams

Consultant in Occupational Medicine, London

Professor Richard Holland

Professor of Public Health Medicine, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia

Dr Lucy Reynolds

Consultant Paediatrician, Maternal and Child Public Health Team, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

Val Barker

Head of School of Public Health, Yorkshire and the Humber Postgraduate Deanery

John Boswell

Former Health Improvement Strategy Advisor and non-medical Public Health Specialist, Lanarkshire NHS Health Board

Helen Buttivant

Public Health Specialty Registrar, Wessex Deanery

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Public health doctors criticise Health Bill

By Mike Broad - 10:42 am

Over 400 public health doctors and specialists from all over the UK have called on members of the House of Lords to reject the government’s Health and Social Care Bill.

An open letter to House of Lords members says: “The Health and Social Care Bill will erode the NHS’s ethical and cooperative foundations” and “will not deliver efficiency, quality, fairness or choice.”

They suggest the Bill will undermine the country’s overall public health capabilities.

Signatories of the letter, which is published in the Daily Telegraph, include over 40 directors of public health and over 100 leading public health academics such as Professor Sir Michael Marmot, of University College London, and Professor Martin McKee, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Professor Martin McKee said: “This letter demonstrates the widespread recognition within the public health community that this Bill is bad for the NHS and harmful to the overall health of the population.”

He added: “There is no research evidence that reforms clearly intended to promote commercial competition will improve quality and safety of care. On the contrary, they are likely to lead to higher administrative costs, greater inequity and an erosion of medical ethics and professionalism.”

The Health Bill will have its second reading in the House of Lords on 11 October, after successfully navigating the Commons. The organisers of the letter want to encourage further discussion between public health professionals and other sceptical groups within the health professions, such as the Royal College of GPs.

Dr Paul Edmondson-Jones, director of public health in Portsmouth, said: “As public health professionals, we have a duty to promote evidence, effectiveness and equity in health and social care.

“The Bill, as it stands, is not supported by any such evidence and will simply fragment our system. Evidence from other countries suggests that the proposals are more likely to create more inefficiency and greater cost and more importantly, increase our vulnerability to infectious disease outbreaks and a bigger health divide.”

Commenting on the letter, Dr Hamish Meldrum, chairman of BMA council, said: “ at the BMA, said: “The BMA has raised particular concerns about the proposals for public health. Doctors fear that proposed new structures will break up the workforce and lead to the fragmentation of public health services.

“The plans could also lead to the NHS losing the skills and expertise of hundreds of highly trained public health doctors. These doctors are responsible for emergency planning such as developing systems during a pandemic flu crisis, developing projects to counteract unhealthy living such as obesity and alcohol misuse, and essential contributions to the commissioning plans for health services.

“We have already taken up all these issues with the government and although we have received some assurances, especially about the training of public health doctors remaining within the mainstream of medical education, there is still much more that the government needs to do and we will not rest until these matters are resolved.”

Read the full letter.

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Public health: “Coalition choosing dogma”

By Mike Broad - 25th July 2011 12:06 pm

The government is choosing dogma over public protection when it comes to the new public health strategy, the UK Faculty of Public Health and the Royal College of Physicians are warning.

The government has now published its response to the Healthy Lives, Healthy People public health white paper consultation. The report sets out government’s vision for the new public health system in England.

The UK Faculty of Public Health and the RCP in their responses called for the statutory regulation of all public health specialists to ensure they are appropriately trained, qualified and scrutinised, in order to safeguard the public - but the government has ignored them.

FPH president, Professor Lindsey Davies said: “Directors of public health and public health consultants make huge decisions that have a profound effect on people’s lives. They already have big responsibilities, and in the new system they will have even more.

“The public deserves to be reassured that people in those posts are properly qualified and are keeping up their professional standards. We have insisted on statutory registration for doctors, who treat one person at a time - surely it’s even more important for directors of public health and other public health specialists, whose decisions affect many thousands of people? I just don’t understand why the government are dragging their feet over this.”

Local authorities will have new responsibilities and ring-fenced budgets for public health, and directors of public health will lead this work. The system will be overseen by a new agency Public Health England, which will strive to provide independent, authoritative, and evidence-based guidance.

The government acknowledged fears over fragmentation of the system and the challenge for the public health workforce.

On the role of the directors of public health, Davies said: “It’s vital that they are placed at senior level within the local authority, at least equivalent to directors of adult social services and with direct access to the chief executive and councillors, and that they have the professional freedom to challenge, if they are to achieve real public health gains.

“I’m very pleased to see that they will continue to have a role in local health service commissioning. But we need to make sure that the right people, with the right training and qualifications are appointed.”

The BMA is calling for the government to maintain the public health workforce and ensure public health doctors retain their NHS terms and conditions.

Co-chair of the BMA’s public health medicine committee, Dr Keith Reid, said: “As a result of the financial climate and re-structuring, posts in public health are being actively cut and many young doctors are already questioning whether there is a future in public health medicine as a career. Public health specialists are responsible for emergency planning such as developing systems during a pandemic flu crisis, developing projects to fight unhealthy living such as obesity and alcohol misuse and commissioning health services.

“I am concerned that no matter how ambitious and bold the vision in the White Paper may be, there will be very few specialists left to take forward these plans and tackle these vital health issues. We do not want a situation where local authorities are handed the keys to public health, only to find that the engine has gone.”

Read the white paper response.

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“Trusts are failing to tackle staff obesity”

By Mike Broad - 15th April 2011 9:10 am

Only 15% of NHS trusts have a policy or plan to help combat staff obesity, a report reveals.

The findings come from the first national audit within the NHS of NICE public health guidance for the workplace. Implementation of the NICE guidance was recommended by the Boorman Review which found clear associations between better staff health and wellbeing and reduced MRSA rates, lower standardised mortality rates and increased patient satisfaction.

The report also finds that trusts were failing to follow NICE guidance on physical activity, with only 32% of the participant organisations having a plan or policy to encourage and support staff to be more physically active.

The audit, by the Royal College of Physicians and the Faculty of Occupational Medicine, assessed data from 282 NHS trusts responsible for close to 900,000 NHS employees in England.

It finds that less than one in three of the participating trusts offered evidence-based weight management programmes for their staff.

Just 31% of trusts promoted healthy options for staff in their shops.

Out of the 42 trusts that did have a plan or policy for tackling staff obesity, only 13 measured uptake of any programmes by different staff groups such as by grade, gender or ethnicity.

Dr Sian Williams, director of the RCP’s Health and Work Development Unit, said: “The results are very disappointing. There is a growing body of evidence to prove that employers who look after their employees will see a more efficient workforce. Trusts that implement the NICE workplace guidance can expect healthier and more productive staff and better patient outcomes as a result.

“Patients expect health professionals to practice what they preach and trusts need to implement the best management practices to maintain the health of their staff.”

A Department of Health report published in 2009 estimated that of the 1.2 million staff in the NHS, approximately 300,000 would be classified as obese and a further 400,000 as overweight.

Read NICE public health guidance for the workplace.

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Being kitchenless has left me opinionless

By Sarah Burnett-Moore - 18th March 2011 1:54 pm

I haven’t had a kitchen since the 16 January. You may notice that this is also around the time I last blogged. There is clearly a symbiotic relationship between my ability to create in the kitchen, and my desire to put pen to paper, metaphorically speaking. (Put fingers to keyboard sounds nowhere near as poetic).

As a result, we’ve been eating out. A lot. It sounds great but it isn’t, as the nutritional content of a meal is largely out of my control. Recently we went to an American restaurant in Chelsea, which features a 750g porterhouse steak on the menu. Coincidentally this was on the day that new government guidelines were published relating to the healthy consumption of red meat. Apparently we should not eat more than 70g of red meat in a day, that’s 2½ ounces for you eurosceptics.

70g??? That’s even less meat than in a basic cheeseburger or your average sausage. Regular readers will know that I’m no fan of government health guidelines, which are the least evidence-based bits of advice out there. Ironically, they seem to have all been worked out on the backs of fag packets. Worse still, they have come up with some very dodgy maths that clearly involved them saying OK, that’s already near the average intake of red and processed meat at 76g.

Hmmm. That’s an average of male and female consumption, men eat an average of 96g a day. Then take out the 10% or so of vegetarians or vegans, and that pushes the male average up to around 110g. The good news though, is that it is nowhere the near the dangerous level of 140g, or 5oz. Confused? Me too, I’m sure my local kebab shop gives me more than 140g of delicious nutritious fresh lamb with each portion. Maybe I shouldn’t have put the kitchen scales in storage with everything else.

The fridge is arriving today. So, hopefully I’ll be back on normal form soon.

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More groups reject health deal as pledges unveiled

BBC Health - 16th March 2011 3:58 pm

The launch of the government’s “responsibility deal” to encourage healthier lifestyles in England has been overshadowed by the refusal of more health groups to sign up.

More than 170 companies have put their names to a series of pledges covering physical activity, alcohol, health at work and food.

But Diabetes UK and the British Heart Foundation have joined the six groups that pulled out on Monday.

Just three health groups signed up.

There were a total of 19 core pledges agreed. These include introducing calorie counts on menus in places such as McDonald’s, KFC and Harvester.

The seven major supermarkets and a host of drink manufacturers have also promised to increase the proportion of drinks with alcohol labelling on from 15% to 80% by the end of 2013.

Read more at BBC Health.

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16th Chief Medical Officer of England a woman

By Mike Broad - 5th March 2011 12:30 pm

Professor Dame Sally Davies has been appointed Chief Medical Officer for England, the first woman to hold the post.

Dame Sally, who has been interim CMO since May, currently holds the post of director-general for research and development and chief scientific adviser at the Department of Health and will take up the post with immediate effect.

She has been a consultant haematologist since 1985 at the Central Middlesex Hospital.

Davies was a member of the steering group for the Biotechnology Innovation and Growth Team, chaired by Sir David Cooksey and its ‘refresh’ of the Health Care Industry Task Force, and is a member of the UK Health Innovation Council. She specialises in the research of sickle cell disease.

The CMO is the government’s most senior medical advisor, responsible for providing expert advice on a wide range of issues relating to the health of the nation, including the handling of health related emergencies.

Key responsibilities for the role will include supporting the Health Secretary on the creation of a public health service for England; providing professional leadership for directors of public health and leading a public health professional network for those responsible for commissioning and providing public health services; and, supporting the health secretary in strengthening the government’s collective effort to help improve the health and well-being of the people of England.

Professor Dame Sally Davies said: “I am delighted to be asked to become the Chief Medical Officer for England and take this opportunity as the professional lead to strengthen public health in this country. I am honoured to be the 16th person and first woman to join the prestigious ranks of Chief Medical Officer and I look forward to working with everyone to improve the health of the nation.”

Health secretary Andrew Lansley commented: “In her time at the Department, and in particular over the last nine months as interim CMO, she has demonstrated her expert knowledge of her field and provided invaluable advice to ministers on a broad range of issues from flu to nutrition to health protection. She will play a key role in developing the new public health service, shaping the way the Department improves and protects the public’s health. I look forward to working closely with her.”

The CMO role carries the rank of Permanent Secretary and is responsible to the Secretary of State for Health for all of the Department’s medical matters. The CMO is also the professional head of the Department’s medical staff and head of the Medical Civil Service.

The role places less emphasis on representing the medical profession than in previous incarnations, an area her predecessor Professor Sir Liam Donaldson was criticised over during the development and implementation of MTAS and MMC.

Read a blog on the role of the CMO.

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Independent public health advice is crucial

By Mike Broad - 1st March 2011 4:48 pm

A group of public health experts have outlined an alternative way forward for reforming public health in England.

Professor Martin McKee, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and colleagues from University College London and the London School of Economics, call for an independent system of public health free from party political influence.

The government recently launched its public health white paper, which seeks to hand responsibility to local authorities and ring fence a budget.

However, Prof McKee suggests there is a better way to control budgets and create a more united workforce.

The authors say: “Independent public health advice is crucial to build public trust…Moving local public health functions outside the NHS risks them being overlooked to a much greater extent than when they were within the NHS.”

The authors, writing in The Lancet, note that while the government is quick to point out perceived failures in public health under the previous administration, they are saying much less about public health successes such as smoke-free legislation, new immunisation strategies and improving children’s school meals.

Under current proposals the new body Public Health England (PHE) would see public health functions split between the Department of Health and local authorities, thus exposing them to political interference.

The authors suggest creation of independent authority within the NHS for PHE so that the public can trust that health matters can be free from day-to-day political interference. In this way it will avoid making the same mistakes as were made during the BSE affair which so eroded trust in public health messages, and which were apparent in the distrust associated with the MMR vaccine.

Staff unity and morale would be maintained through this new model suggested by the authors at a time when population health faces enormous challenges from spending cuts, instead of the fragmented solution of the government.

And one of the biggest dangers, say the authors, is ring-fencing of budgets. While public health funds devolved to local authorities would be ring-fenced, there is a significant risk local authorities could re-designate some of their existing activities as ‘public health’ so as to use some of these funds for other purposes. The authors’ alternative is a truly ring-fenced budget held centrally by this new PHE authority, and deployed directly to Directors of Public Health in local authorities for specific public health purposes only.

The authors conclude: “The government’s current proposals will create further disruption that, we believe, can be mitigated - and thus avoid destabilisation at a time of historic change within the NHS…Our model is consistent with the core aspects of the government’s draft legislation and its stated principles of enabling public health to fully engage with the work of local authorities and Commissioning Consortia.”

Read the full article.

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