Press Release

1 April 2009

Faculty of Public Health welcomes the launch of the new Care Quality Commission, but warns against sidelining public health

  • Faculty of Public Health publishes report detailing recommendations for the newly formed regulatory body
  • Public health issues should be further integrated with wider concerns such as equity and human rights
  • A key challenge for the Care Quality Commission is to build the different domains of public health into the regulatory process

The Faculty of Public Health (FPH) welcomes the creation of the new Care Quality Commission (an amalgamation of the HealthCare Commission (HCC), Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) and Mental Health Act Commission (MHAC)). A new report from FPH, released this week to coincide with the launch of the new CQC, looks at the HCC's public health legacy and sets the agenda for the newly formed CQC to ensure that public health will be at the core of the healthcare regulator's work.

Stepping Up, written jointly with the HCC and based on the experiences of 16 Primary Care Trusts, NHS Foundation Trusts and other healthcare providers, recognises the real opportunities for public health to be integrated with wider policy concerns such as human rights now that the CSCI and MHAC will be part of the same regulatory framework. But it also warns against the danger of sidelining public health, in particular the health improvement agenda on promoting healthy lifestyles and environments to reduce health inequalities. Despite an expressed commitment by the CQC to public health, the key challenge will be to ensure that all areas of public health become an integral part of the new regulatory process.  

FPH President Professor Alan Maryon-Davis said: “The new CQC, with its expanded remit, will present real opportunities for further integration of public health with health and social care delivery. We must make sure that the vital work the HCC has done in public health won't be lost.”

To help the CQC integrate public health into its regulatory framework, the report identifies case studies that illustrate the range of effort already being invested in public health by healthcare providers.  One of these is the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust which, after analysing data from different areas by socioeconomic status, recognised that a lot could be done to support the most vulnerable groups in their community. The Trust focused on building on existing links with the community, for instance with a large Sikh temple to carry out proactive cardiovascular screenings. In addition, the Trust's occupational health department worked to foster a culture of wellbeing and improved work attendance through, for example, providing access for trust staff on sickness absence to various support services such as cognitive behavioural therapy and physiotherapy.   
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Professor Maryon-Davis added: 'The CQC is in a very strong position to build on what these organisations have achieved.  Public health has got to be at the heart of the healthcare regulation agenda.'

The report calls for information and best practice sharing, and a need for a common public health agenda between primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare organisations and social care providers: to recognise that their patients are not just individuals but part of wider population groups with particular needs and challenges.  

As well as recommendations for action and consideration for commissioners and healthcare providers, the report also calls for the government to strike a balance between a controlling, rule-bound state and a laissez faire approach in protecting the public's health. 

The Stepping Up Report is available to download here

For more information and interviews with FPH President Professor Alan Maryon-Davis, please contact FPH Press Officer Suvi Kingsley on 020 7935 3115 / 07939 897448/ suvikingsley@fph.org.uk

ENDS

Notes to editors

  1. Faculty of Public Health (FPH) is the leading professional body for public health specialists in the UK. It aims to promote and protect the health of the population, and improve health services, by maintaining professional and educational standards, advocating on key public health issues, and providing practical information and guidance for public health professionals. www.fph.org.uk
     
  2. From 1 April 2009, responsibility for regulating the provision of healthcare services was transferred from the Healthcare Commission to a new organisation called the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The establishment of the CQC and its wider remit of inspecting and regulating both healthcare and social care services in England, brings together the work of the Healthcare Commission, the Commission for Social Care Inspection, and the Mental Health Act Commission in England. In Wales, Healthcare Inspectorate Wales took over the duties of the Mental Health Act Commission.
     
  3. Best practice organisations showcased in the report:
    Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
    East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust
    East Midlands Public Health Observatory
    South Essex Partnerships Mental Health Trust
    Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust
    Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust
    Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation
    Portsmouth PCT
    Derby City PCT
    Tower Hamlets PCT
    Doncaster PCT
    Walsall PCT
    Swindon PCT
    Knowsley PCT
     
  4. Public health is about improving and protecting the health of groups of people, rather than about treating individual patients. Public health professionals must look at the bigger picture and then take action to promote health lifestyles, prevent disease, protect and improve general health, and improve healthcare services. The ‘population' they are working for could be a rural community, an entire city, or the global population, but the principles remain the same.

 

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