'Public health specialists should be at the heart of commissioning'
Professor Lindsey Davies, President of the Faculty of Public Health, has written to the 3,500 members of the FPH, updating them on processes currently in place to gather opinion for eventual response to the NHS White Paper and to feed into government consultation on the upcoming Public Health White Paper.
Davies said: "The White Papers will have a huge impact on public health provision in England. It is essential that FPH, as the standard setter for specialist public health, encourages debate from the public health community and consults with its members in order to shape the future of public health with our new coalition Government."
In August the Faculty will be circulating a survey to all its members as a part of its consultation in preparation to a response.
Read the full letter here as well as a document outlining key messages and responses here.
Additionally, Professor Davies is concerned about NHS Commissioning. She said:
“We welcome the government's enthusiasm for public health.
But health services play a key role in improving health and this is a high-risk strategy for the NHS.
It will be a real challenge for managers and people currently involved in commissioning, including Directors of Public Health and their teams, to stay focused on keeping the population healthy when resources are stretched. They have to manage a huge change to the whole system and their own jobs may be at risk.
Commissioning isn't just about getting the right care for the patient in front of you. It's about balancing needs and resources to make sure that the whole population gets the best value for money. Most GPs are not experienced or trained to do that.
It's crucial that public health specialists, who are expert in doing this, are able to work alongside clinicians at the heart of the commissioning.”
- Read the letter on the future of healthcare public health sent to Secretary of State for Health and signed by Dr Corinne Camilleri-Ferrante, Chair of FPH Healthcare Public Health Committee, Dr Keith Reid, Vice-Chair of BMA's Public Health Medicine Committee, Dr Daphne Austin, Chair of UK Public Health Commissioning Network, and Sir Muir Gray, Director of Public Health Commissioning Network for England.
- Read a news story in the Independent on Sunday with a quote from Dr Camilleri-Ferrante.
Notes to editors
For further information, please contact FPH Press Officer Suvi Kingsley on 020 7935 3115 or email suvikingsley@fph.org.uk
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Written: 13/07/2010 , last modified: 27/07/2010
