The nature and interest of the role of director of public health is that it isn’t routine; in fact it’s extremely varied with many different elements: strategic planning, management, commissioning, leadership and networking. I have a general responsibility for the health and well-being of the population of Bath and North East Somerset and, overall, the role is about trying to prevent illness, promote good physical and mental health and reduce health inequalities through any possible means.
One way of describing the scope is through the three broad areas of health improvement (promoting healthy lifestyles), health protection (reducing hazards to health for example through vaccination, screening and emergency response), and healthcare public health (providing information and support to the NHS, particularly the local Clinical Commissioning Group). I also supervise public health trainees, lecture in global public health and teach on the Master’s in international health at Bristol where I run a session on health in refugee camps. So there really is no typical day.
I have a significant commissioning remit, and a £9 million budget for services, including: health visiting, school nursing, NHS health checks, weight management, exercise referral, smoking cessation, sexual health and drug and alcohol treatment. I also provide information and evidence on the health and population of Bath and North East Somerset to the Council and NHS. I or my team lead local strategies including those for active lifestyles, healthy weight, sexual health, tobacco and alcohol control and suicide prevention.
We seek to influence a wide range of Bath & North East Somerset Council departments and to have an impact on some of the wider determinants of health, such as transport, housing, leisure and regeneration, and we work with partners across other public services like the police and schools. Finally we engage with some of the local businesses, for instance on workplace health or improving the nutritional quality of foods in local restaurants and takeaways. One of the most striking things about my job is that I have a perfectly legitimate reason to meet with any of the 190,000 residents of the area.
As well as my local work I am on regional and national groups. For example I am a regional representative on the board of the Association of Directors of Public Health and part of a national group developing links between health and housing sectors.