Faculty Elections

Following the Faculty's elections for Faculty President and Vice President, we are pleased to announce that Dr Alan Maryon Davis has been elected as the next President of the Faculty of Public Health, and Dr Stephen George has been elected as Vice President. They will officially take office at the Faculty AGM in June 2007.

Full results from these elections and Local Board elections are available on the Faculty website at: www.fph.org.uk/prof_affairs/elections/

Launch of new Faculty Network Groups

Following a consultation with our members and users of the Faculty's current Network Groups system, we have worked to develop a new theme-based discussion system that we think will better contribute to fulfilling your networking needs.

Today is the launch of the new FPH Network Groups. We are confident that you will find the new discussion system simpler to use and that it will prove to be a useful way of sharing resources and encouraging discussion and collaboration.

The new system:

• allows for the convenience of email-based discussion.
• Is organic - users can request to set up new groups and act as group moderators.
• allows for the development of a communal resource of reference documents and useful links.

To register, go to http://new.fph-groups.org.uk

All subscribers to the old network groups system will need to reregister with the new system. However, this will only take a couple of minutes. If you have any queries, please don't hesitate to email networkgroups@fph.org.uk

Faculty training curriculum approved

We are delighted to announce that the new Faculty training curriculum has been approved by the PMETB. The Curriculum and Assessment Committee will now lead the next phase of work to develop an assessment system. The first phase of this work will be submitted at end of February 2007.

The curriculum has been developed into an online resource and is available at: www.fph.org.uk/training/. We hope that the online learning outcomes framework will be an especially useful tool for all those involved in public health training in the UK.

Evaluating our Hypertension toolkit

The Faculty will soon be undertaking a formal review of the ‘Easing the Pressure: Tackling Hypertension' toolkit and the impact that it has had since its launch in May 2005.

Have you used this toolkit, and if so, what did you think of it? How has the toolkit changed public health policy in your local area?

A survey will be made available online from late February, and the Faculty would greatly appreciate it if you could make your views known. The results of the survey will be presented to the Department of Health, and will greatly influence future Faculty publications.

Each person who fills in the survey will be entered into a prize draw to win book tokens to the value of £100!

Visit the Faculty website to download the toolkit. The survey will be online from late February, and registration for the Annual Conference will begin in March.

Register for Prioritising Health Services Conference

The Faculty is sponsoring a one-day conference aimed at bringing together public health practitioners who have an interest in health service provision and quality. Prioritising Health Services - Threats and Opportunities will take place on the 26 April 2007 in Birmingham.

The conference supports the need for greater public health engagement in priority setting, commissioning and quality assurance in the context of healthcare provision within NHS organisations.

To register for the conference and for more information please see the Faculty's conference website.

GMC consultation on children & young people

The General Medical Council is currently consulting on new draft guidance for doctors, which addresses their role and responsibilities toward children and young people.

You can take part in this consultation online at www.gmc-uk.org/children/. The consultation is open until 23 February 2007

Trustees for Alcohol Education & Research Council

The Department of Health is currently recruiting for six trustees to the Alcohol Education & Research Council (AERC).

Anyone who is interested should visit www.appointments.org.uk or call 0870 240 3802 (the reference number is DH6056). The deadline for applications is the 5 February 2007.

Humanitarian Fund

The Department of Health (DH), the British Medical Association (BMA) and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) recognise that a significant number of NHS healthcare staff undertake international humanitarian work. Much of this work is aimed at helping developing countries and societies in transition to address significant challenges they may face in meeting the healthcare needs of their people.

To support current activities, and to encourage the development of new initiatives, the DH, BMA and RCN have made available a fund to cover incidental expenses of teams undertaking humanitarian projects.

Applications to this fund may be made by any individual or staff group within the NHS or special health authority, with applications from multidisciplinary teams being particularly welcome.

Further information can be found on the BMA website

Internship – International Clinical Epidemiology Network, New Delhi

The International Clinical Epidemiology Network (INCLEN) seeks graduate-level interns in public health (MPH/MHS/PhD/DrPH) for a six month to one year internship or practicum at the office of the Executive Director, New Delhi, India.

This is an opportunity for dedicated, enthusiastic and talented young public health professionals to apply innovative ideas and acquired knowledge to real-world settings located primarily in developing countries. For further details see the internship announcement [Word] and the application form [Word].

Secondment opportunity - EU Commission

A secondment opportunity exists for a senior SpR/SpT in public health to work in the Public Health Directorate of DG Health and Consumer Protection (DG SANCO) in Luxembourg.

The post has been approved for training purposes by the Faculty. The secondment is for six months and can be renewed for a further six months, if requested.

Interested?

For further information please contact either:

• Dr Chris Birt (tel 0151 478 1234) or
• Dr Alexis Macherianakis (tel 07786 982463) or
• Mr John Ryan, Public Health Directorate, DG Sanco

PAHO - a pan American health organisation

PAHO (Pan American Health Organisation) is an international public health agency working to improve health and living standards of the countries of the Americas. It serves also as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organisation. PAHO operates an electronic mailing list through which it disseminates information from around the world on equity, health and human development.

Further information on PAHO can be found at www.paho.org. To join its mailing list and/or view materials disseminated through this, see listserv.paho.org/Archives/equidad.html.

Events

Prison Medicine: A New Challenge for PCTs and Doctors
8 February 2007
BMA House, London
For further information: British Medical Association website

NGO Forum Inaugural Lecture
8 February 2007, 6.00pm to 9:00pm
London
The Royal Society
First come, first served as places are limited.
For further information: The Royal Society website

Joint Conference with the College of Physicians of South Africa
23 - 24 February 2007
Cape Town
For further information: RCP London website

Implementation of Choosing Health through Pharmacy – A Programme for Pharmaceutical Public Health
27 February 2007
London
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain
For further information and to book online: PCC website

"A new path entirely": The NHS as a work in progress
3 March 2007
University of Glasgow
For further information: University of Glasgow website

Physical Health Needs of People with Mental Illness: Problems and Solutions
20 March 2007
Leeds
Leeds Mental Health
For further information: Leeds Mental Health website

Childhood Obesity – The problem? The solution?
23 March 2007
London
Royal Society of Medicine
For further information: RSM website

Polonium-210: The public health response
27 March 2007
London
Health Protection Agency
For further information: HPA website

Travel Associated Disease
29 March 2007
Royal Geographical Society, London
Organised by The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
For further informaiton: RSTMH website

Promoting Health for the Region’s Wealth: Meeting the Health Needs of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Communities
29 March 2007
Manchester
North West Regional Assembly
For further information: North West Regional Assembly website

Prioritising Health Sevices - threats and opportunities
26 April 2007
Birmingham
For further information: Faculty of Public Health conference website.

Public Health Ethics Conference
16-18 May 2007
Birmingham University Conference Park
Organised by the London School of Hygieine and Tropical Medicine
For further information: LSHTM website

11th Inter Island Public Health Forum - 'Holistic Public Health'
16-19 May 2007
Guernsey Channel Islands
For more information: www.healthyislands.co.uk or email ykaill@hssd.gov.gg

The Art of Public Health – Lobbying in Action
24 May 2007
London
The Royal Society of Medicine
For further information: RSM website

Making Public Health Work
Faculty's Annual Conference
26-28 June 2007
Eastbourne
For further information: Faculty of Public Health conference website.

Towards a Smokefree Society: Science, policy and implementation
10 - 11 September 2007
Edinburgh
NHS Health Scotland, the Scottish Executive, European Commission
For further information: www.smokefreeconference07.com

Health Protection 2007
17-19 September
Warwick University
Health Protection Agency
For further information: www.healthprotectionconference.org.uk

PATIENT SAFETY RESEARCH - Shaping the European agenda
24-26 September 2007
Porto, Portugal
UK Faculty of Public Health, University College London, WHO World Alliance for Patient Safety
For further information see www.patientsafetyresearch.org