Report of the Director of Public Health Development
Author: Dr Peter Bradley
Date: 09 March 2012 / Version: 1
Purpose and Summary of Document:
Update to the Public Health Wales Board
Date of Executive Team Meeting: 22 March 2012
Please State if the Paper is for:
Discussion
Decision
Information / x
Publication / Distribution:
· Public Health Wales Board
Date: 09 March 2012 / Version: 1 / Page: 2 of 17
Public Health Wales / Director of Public Health Development Report – March 2012
1 Executive Director of Public Health Development Update
Progress has been made in the directorate in the last month as follows
1.1 The end of the re-alignment Board in March 2012 has led to intensive productive discussions with Welsh government about the future of health improvement in Wales. These discussions are on-going but should allow Public Health Wales to have much greater impact on population health.
1.2 The process of creating an “Institute function” has now commenced. A meeting of academics from across Wales is planned in the near future. Accommodation possibilities for the functions are also being closely followed-up. A review of possibilities to attract research funding has started.
1.3 Areas for future development are currently being identified and will include: research synthesis, health improvement, links between Health Boards and the Observatory, cancer intelligence, smoking, work on the wider determinants of health and workplace health. There are also plans to strengthen communication between directorates in areas such as vulnerable people, public health nursing, surveillance and safeguarding.
1.4 Task and finish (5x5) groups from across the public health system are making good progress on topics such as: clinical prioritisation, smoking, INNU (Intervention Not Normally Undertaken), generic brief interventions, alcohol and mental health.
1.5 The directorate continues to champion the early year’s pathfinder (including input to the work on child poverty) and work on vascular checks. For both of these areas there is close working with Welsh government and a number of work streams are being developed to ensure that tackling inequality remains central to the proposals.
1.6 The directorate has given considerable input to the National Case for Change in terms of expert advice and data including attendance at the National Clinical Forum.
1.7 A proposal for the use of consultant and principal sessions across the system has been circulated to staff for comment. The proposal aims to create an aligned, flexible resource across the public health system for key topics. The proposal currently excludes national health protection staff.
1.8 Job plans have now been agreed with core consultant staff.
2 Director of Health and Healthcare Improvement Update
2.1 Business
2.2 The Director of Health and Healthcare Improvement has undertaken job planning meetings with staff within his division; the majority of job plans and objectives have now been agreed and signed off;
2.3 Aligned to the administration review, a draft interim administration structure for the division (excluding Stop Smoking Wales administration staff) will be agreed and submitted to the Administration Review February Project Board for approval. As business support arrangements for the division are still ongoing, the administration structure if agreed by the Project Board may need revision at a later stage;
2.4 An audit is planned to determine the existing business support that is provided within the division;
2.5 Work is progressing to ensure the requirements for standards for healthcare services is met with a deadline for completion by the end of March 2012;
2.6 Discussion is ongoing to ensure that the division meets the requirement in regard to ‘concerns’. A system has been put in place to ensure that the Director is notified of all concerns/complaints raised and that they are dealt with, actioned and followed up in a timely manner.
2.7 Matters in regard to accommodation are still ongoing and a comparative analysis of accommodation options available to the division is being progressed.
2.8 Redecoration of offices and renewal of IT equipment for health and healthcare improvement staff within South East and Mid and West Wales has been progressed. Staff within North Wales will be progressed in mid February.
2.9 Work is ongoing to support the move of the Health Promotion Wales Library and staff to Public Health Wales on 1April 2012.
2.10 Interim financial arrangements are being finalised across Wales to assist with the authorisation of areas such as procurement, annual leave, travel expenses etc. Regional Business Managers will act as authorised signatories for budget codes across the division until financial/budgetary responsibilities are agreed.
2.11 Alcohol
Work is ongoing to finalise three Royal College of General Practitioner (RCGP) courses that will train over 100 GPs in alcohol brief intervention (ABI) by the end of March 2012, this is additional to the training already undertaken within the ABI project;
2.12 A generic ABI course is being developed, initially for community professionals that will be accredited by Agored Cymru. It is anticipated that this will form the basis of a single ABI course for all health and social care professionals;
2.13 Further development is being undertaken for the mini-collaborative approach to health board-wide ABI delivery, which will initially focus on North Wales;
2.14 The potential of an effective and helpful ‘network’ is being considered.
2.15 ASSIST
2.15.1 Nineteen schools from across Wales have been recruited to participate in ASSIST during the current school term. Six of the schools are Welsh medium schools – prior to this academic year the team had been unable to deliver to Welsh schools;
2.15.2 Discussions have taken place with the ASSIST team on the potential to further develop the programme of work in order to widen the scope of work and develop health promotion/public health knowledge skills and experience;
2.15.3 A team away day will take place in February.
2.16 Cardiovascular Disease
2.16.1 An action plan has been submitted to Welsh Government. Subsequent discussions have resulted in agreement that work to make CVD risk assessment in Wales more systematic will form a work stream of the programme to introduce health checks in Wales. A Project Initiation Document is being developed in discussion with Welsh Government for agreement by mid-February 2012.
2.17 Child Poverty Strategy
2.17.1 Work on the draft Child Poverty Strategy is on schedule for circulation in February 2012, views and approval of the Public Health Wales Board will be sought. The strategy will be submitted to Welsh Government by end March2012.
2.18 Health Inequalities
2.18.1 Literature reviews are being undertaken;
· Review the evidence from the health trainers pilot and programmes of a similar nature elsewhere (completed);
· Review the evidence base on health inequities and the provision of green space, identifying any further cost effective interventions which could be considered for future action;
· Review the evidence on health inequities and community cohesion and make recommendations for strengthening the health assets approach;
· Assess the potential of equipping health and social service staff with the skills and competencies required to make every contact count in supporting and encouraging people to stay healthy;
· Assess the contribution that different approaches to the training of health and social service staff can make to reducing health inequities;
2.18.2 A brief report has been compiled following a recent pilot of an Equality Impact Assessment Toolkit for Public Health Wales;
2.18.3 A draft Sustainable Development Action Plan for Public Health Wales has been updated; further discussions on how this will be taken forward will take place in February 2012.
2.18.4 Planning and preparation is being undertaken for an exchange meeting on 79February with the French National School of Public Health and Baden-Württemberg;
2.19 Intervention Not Normally Undertaken (INNU)
2.20 In response to Health Board Directors’ of Planning and Public Health and the Welsh Government’s request for Public Health Wales to facilitate an all Wales approach to INNU’s, a web based prototype has been developed. Utilising rapid application development (RAD) methodology information, details were extracted from available documentation to develop the prototype. RAD is an iterative development process that is based on rapid prototype development that enables faster progress and prototyping cumulating in a model more suited to need. The prototype web pages describe the INNU concept; the approach; and links to individual topics. Response to the prototype has been positive and feedback will inform prototype development. In parallel to developing the web model, national consensus will be required to maintain the system and process for INNU; this will be undertaken by a 5 x 5 Groups approach.
2.21 Pharmaceutical Public Health
2.21.1 Arrangements are ongoing for recruitment to the Pharmaceutical Public Health Welsh Government realignment post;
2.21.2 Work is ongoing on the collection and monitoring of data for Individual Patient Funding Requests from health boards;
2.21.3 Three National Health Promotion Campaigns for 2012/13 have been confirmed:
· Supporting Self Care campaign to improve signposting to the Educating Patients Programme which is planned for April;
· Diabetes and Stroke Risk campaign in September;
· Respiratory campaign dealing with three week cough and early detection of lunch cancer planned for November;
· Public Health Wales will work with Community Pharmacy Wales and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society to promote the campaigns through the media. The pharmacy team have met with the NLIAH to agree the content of the campaigns and to negotiate resources for the Educating Patients Programme campaign;
2.21.4 The team attended and contributed to the Public Health Improvement Development event;
2.21.5 Several meetings have taken place in relation to emergency planning:
· Emergency planning meeting with Welsh Government and Welsh Ambulance Service Trust (WAST) regarding chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN), and pandemic influenza countermeasures;
· Planning meeting in North Wales to assist local planning arrangements around the contingency stockpile for Potassium Io date in relation to responding to a radioactive iodine release;
· Attended Gwent Local Resilience Forum to discuss the new UK Pandemic Preparedness Strategy;
2.21.6 A paper has been prepared on patient group directions for the Quality and Safety Committee;
2.21.7 The team are providing ongoing input to the vaccine and preventable disease programme;
2.21.8 The team coordinated and facilitated a joint Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB), NLIAH and Welsh Medicines Resource Centre (WeMeREC) meeting in regard to the Wales Eye Health Project, raising professional awareness of project aim. A continuing professional development (CPD) module has been agreed;
2.21.9 Developed financial forecasts with the Welsh Medicines Partnership, Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee (WHSSC), and the Cancer Services Coordinating Group; estimating increased cost pressure due to New Medicines 2012/2013;
2.21.10 A paper has been developed for the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, on community pharmacy and deprivation, with a potential to address inequalities;
Undertaking work on behalf of the Welsh Government and Welsh Pharmaceutical Committee on the analysis of data on Emergency Hormonal Contraception provision.
2.22 Public Health Genomics
2.22.1 A paper will be written to discuss the potential of genomic to public health
2.22.2 Input has been given to support the Screening Division of Public Health Wales as a member of the Newborn Blood Spot Policy & QA Committee;
2.23 Public Health Networks
2.23.1 The All Wales Mental Health Promotion conference was held on 25January. The event was very well attended and a great success. Huw Lewis AM, Minister for Housing, Regeneration and Heritage gave the keynote address. Whilst at the Conference the Minister presented two Public Health Wales Good Practice Awards;
2.23.2 The All Wales Sexual Health conference ‘The Fairer Sex: Addressing Sexual Health Inequalities in Wales took place at Cardiff City Stadium on 22 February. The conference looked at the sexual health of vulnerable groups, reducing the prevalence of risk-taking behaviour and how sexual health services can appeal to and be accessible for all;
2.23.3 The second ‘Creating an Active Wales’ research seminar will take place at Bangor University on 8March with a focus on Physical Activity in the green environment. The seminar will explore issues and evidence related to physical activity and the natural environment. Discussions aim to generate research ideas and develop collaborations to inform future research;
2.23.4 Planning is well advanced for the International Health-enhanced physical activity (HEPA) conference in Cardiff which will include a Mayoral Reception, a main Symposium, Symposium Dinner and HEPA meeting, and is being hosted by the Physical Activity and Nutrition Network for Wales.
2.24 Realignment project and Programme Level Agreements (PLAs)
2.24.1 Terms of reference for a Public Health Wales project team to oversee the realignment of the projects within the organisation have been drafted and circulated;
2.24.2 The realignment of programme level agreements (PLAs) from the Welsh Government (WG) to Public Health Wales continues to progress;
2.24.3 The team continues to work in collaboration with the Programme Support Unit (PSU);
2.24.4 Requests for a lead role in assuring the successful realignment of PLAs, according to the expressed topic area interests of ten consultants in Public Health, have been made;
2.24.5 Arrangements are proceeding to recruitment posts for the:
· ‘National Breastfeeding Programme for Wales’;
· ‘Public Health Nutrition’;
2.24.6 In conjunction with the Welsh Government procurement and tendering requirements, interviews have been held with two prospective providers for the ‘National Children’s Obesity Referral Programme’;
2.24.7 A meeting has been held with Welsh Government to discuss extending the ‘Welsh Network of Healthy Schools’ to further and higher education;
2.24.8 Two literature reviews are being undertaken for the ‘Fairer Outcomes for All’ programme;
2.24.9 Following a meeting with Welsh Government a short report has been produced on a possible way forward in regard to ‘Assessing the needs of children and young people in special schools and the workforce development requirements to meet these needs’ programme;
2.24.10 A summary of evidence on new technologies for smoking cessation has been completed and sent to the Welsh Government.
2.24.11 In conjunction with the Welsh Government procurement and tendering requirements, interviews have been held with two prospective providers for the ‘National Children’s Obesity Referral Programme’;