UK Faculty of Public Health

ii) Public Health Topics
Creating chances – supporting social change through football

The Premier League will showcase their initiative ‘Creating Chances’ which uses football to increase sporting participation and encourage clubs to effect positive social change within their local communities. Demonstrations in the quad will be provided by Aston Villa FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers FC – so remember to bring some trainers.

Speakers:

Simon Morgan, Head of Community Development, The Premier League

Showcase from Aston Villa FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers FC

Delegates will be invited to participate in an interactive health quiz

iii) New/Changing Approach
Behavioural change, behavioural insight and public health

The public health white paper has placed renewed emphasis on the role that behaviour change will play in public health activity around health improvement. There has been a specific emphasis on using behaviour insights and Nudge approaches to achieve health improvement aims. However Nudge is only part of the vast range of behavioural approaches that could be used to help improve the health of the population. Many public health professionals have expressed concern around the use of Nudge. In this panel session we bring together experts on individual behaviour change and Nudge to discuss how these approaches can be used in a public health setting.

Speakers:

Professor Mike Kelly, Director for the Centre for Public Health Excellence, NICE
Dr Dominic King, Clinical Research Fellow, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London
Professor Stephen Sutton, Professor Behavioural Science, Institute of Public Health, University of Cambridge
Dr Ivo Vlaev, Senior Lecturer, Imperial College London

Chair: Dr Frank Atherton, President, Association of Directors of Public Health

i) Your public health career - where next: options and opportunities

This session will focus on the public health career options and training opportunities across a range of new environments.  It will give you an opportunity to:

• Receive a keynote speech from the Department of Health, England on the current challenges facing the public health workforce
• Hear from colleagues currently practicing public health in Acute trusts and Local Government
• Find out what the longer term employment landscape is for public health specialists
• Network and pose challenging questions to influential national figures involved in the public health Education, training and workforce.
• Hear first hand experiences from a public health registrar.

Panel members:

Dr Trudi Kemp, Public Health Consultant, St Georges Healthcare NHS Trust
Dr Judy Jones, Deputy Director, Public Health Intelligence, Leadership and Workforce Public Health Delivery, Department of Health
Dr Michael Bannon, Public Health Lead Dean, Oxford Deanery
Dr Brendon Mason, Chair, FPH Training Programme Directors Committee

Chair: Dr David Williams, Academic Registrar, Faculty of Public Health

ii) A new approach to mental health and wellbeing

This session will explain why ‘mental health and wellbeing’ is one of the twin goals of the public health white paper ‘Healthy Lives, Healthy People’, providing some theoretical background to the concept of mental wellbeing and presenting some of the evidence base for intervening. The North West Region’s mental health promotion programme will be described as an example of what can be achieved.

Speakers:

Dr Ruth Hussey, Director of Public Health, North West Region on secondment to PHE Transition Team
Ms Jude Stansfield, independent Public Health Specialist
Professor Sarah Stewart-Brown, Professor of Public Health, Warwick University and Chair, FPH Mental Health Committee

Chair: Prof Alan Maryon-Davis, Immediate past FPH President

iii) The new players in public health: can industry solve the big public health challenges? 

It is widely acknowledged that industry and its practises have a major impact on our health and wellbeing. With obesity levels, especially among children, on the rise and the growing crises in society as a consequence of alcohol misuse, the finger has been well and truly pointed at the food and drink industries. But is industry really the big bad wolf it’s made out to be? Doesn’t it also have a valuable role to play in improving our health and wellbeing? This session will hear views from health policy experts and industry on what they see as the role of industry in public health.

Speakers:

Ms Melanie Leech, Director General, Food and Drink Federation
Professor Tim Lang, Professor of Food Policy, City University London
Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, Chair, Alcohol Health Alliance
Mr Seymour Fortescue, Chairman, The Portman Group

Chair: Denis Campbell, Health Correspondent, The Guardian and The Observer

2.50 – 3.50pm

Plenary 3 – The Big Public Health Debate
Any willing provider: is this the end of the NHS as we know it?

Although the ‘any willing provider’ model has been around the NHS for a while covering non-emergency and elective care, the reforms proposed in the coalition government’s Health and Social Care Bill aim to roll out the concept to cover nearly all health and community care services. The Big Public Health Debate will ask what this means for the future of the NHS: does it signal the beginning of the end of the NHS, with smaller, local healthcare providers ousted by national conglomerates concerned with profit over patients? Or will it mean greater patient choice, increased innovation (through competition), faster treatment and better service?

Speaker:

Mr Roy Lilley, NHS Writer & Broadcaster
Dr Mark Britnell, Chairman & Partner, Global Health Practice, KPMG LLP (UK)
Dr Mark Hunt, Managing Director, Health Care, Care UK
Ms Karen Jennings, Assistant General Secretary, UNISON

Chair: Dr John Middleton, Vice President, Faculty of Public Health

i) ‘The new commissioners on the block’ – learning from GP pathfinders

This interactive workshop will explore the role of Public Health within clinically led commissioning, examining the lessons learnt in Herefordshire where a Consultant in Public Health sits on the GP Commissioning Consortium transition board, and a shadow Health and Wellbeing Board has been formed with a central role for the Director of Public Health. The workshop will explore strategic issues, as well as the operational practicalities of working in partnership with GPs and other clinicians. The workshop will equip participants with ideas to help them engage with the new clinical commissioners in their own local area.

Speakers:

Dr Sarah Aitken, Consultant in Public Health, Herefordshire PCT
Dr Alison Talbot-Smith, Consultant in Public Health, Herefordshire PCT
Mrs Clare Wichbold, Grants and Partnership Officer, Herefordshire PCT

Chair: Mr Richard Hoey, Editor, Pulse

ii) In fiscally challenged times what should be our priority - reducing health inequalities or increasing average life expectancy?

Those working in public health are driven by the central tenants of reducing health inequalities and increasing life expectancy within populations. As they implement policy, there will come times when a choice has to be made between the two. This parallel session is an interactive exercise in exploring whether those working public health should regard the reduction of health inequalities as more important than the increase of average life expectancy (or vice versa). Session delegates will form two groups. Following a brief introduction from the Chair, the groups will spend half the session preparing their case for a debate. The remainder of the session will consist of the debate and discussion.

Chair: Professor Kate Pickett, Co-author of the Spirit Level

iii)  Delivering public health innovation

The 21st Century sees public health faced with major challenges including health problems caused by lifestyle choices, emerging infectious diseases, antibiotic resistance, climate change etc. Technological advances help but there is a need to encourage new and innovative ways of thinking in public health to solve the most pressing problems.

The Public Health Innovation and Ideas session will include presentations to respected public health experts of the most innovative ideas received on ways to solve/meet these challenges. Presentations may enable development of the idea and gain access to networks with expertise to aid implementation.

Panel members include:
Professor Lindsey Davies, President, Faculty of Public Health
Dr Frank Atherton, President, Association of Directors of Public Health
Mr Justin McCracken, Chief Executive, Health Protection Agency

Chair: Dr Rashmi Shukla, Regional Director of Public Health, Department of Health West Midlands

6.00 – 7.15pm