About Public Health Wales
Lessons from home: the view from Wales
13 July 2011
Bob Hudson, Chief Executive, Public Health Wales
Presentation
• Health in Wales• NHS Wales restructuring in 2009• Public Health system in Wales• Reflections
Lessons from home: the view from Wales
Health in Wales
• Health of the population in Wales continues to improve
But• Health is worse in Wales than England, Scotland and Northern Ireland
• Health inequities remain stark and resistant to change
Lessons from home: the view from Wales
NHS Wales restructuring
• Replacement of 22 Local Health Boards and 10 NHS Trusts with seven health boards and three specialist NHS trusts
• Abolition of the internal market • Changes introduced in October 2009
Lessons from home: the view from Wales
Health system in Wales
• NHS Wales in Welsh Government• Seven health boards and three specialist trusts
• 22 unitary local authorities
Lessons from home: the view from Wales
Restructuring objectives
• Fit with ‘One Wales’ coalition government agreement
• Fit with Welsh culture and values: co-operation not competition
• Integration and simplification• Appropriate to scale in Wales
Lessons from home: the view from Wales
Public health in Wales• 2005: Establishment of National Public Health Service for Wales– Included most specialist public health services and Public Health Laboratory Service
– Reduced funding
• 2006: Review by Public Health Resource Unit
• 2009: Reorganisation in line with NHS Wales
Lessons from home: the view from Wales
Public health system in Wales• NHS Wales
– including Chief Medical Officer and Department of Public Health and Health Professionals
• Seven health boards – Population health responsibilities– Employ Directors of Public Health
• Public Health Wales– Specialist public health services
Lessons from home: the view from Wales
Public Health Wales
• Incorporates the functions and services previously provided by:– Congenital Anomaly Register and Information Service (CARIS)
– National Public Health Service for Wales– Screening Services Wales– Wales Centre for Health– Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit (WCISU)
Lessons from home: the view from Wales
Public Health Wales
• Established in 2009 at the same time as the restructuring of NHS Wales
• 1,200 staff• £82 million budget• More than 40 locations• Staff working in local teams, all Wales programmes and networked services
Lessons from home: the view from Wales
Our ambition
• To achieve a healthier, happier and fairer Wales
• We can only achieve this by working together with our stakeholders
Lessons from home: the view from Wales
Directorate of Public Health Services• Accounts for approximately 70 per cent of Public Health Wales staff
• Responsible for the following divisions:– Health Protection– Screening– Safeguarding
Lessons from home: the view from Wales
Directorate of Public Health Development• Main link to the Directors of Public Health– Seven local teams
• Responsible for:– Health and Social Care Quality – Health Improvement– Health Intelligence including the Public Health Wales Observatory, Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit
Lessons from home: the view from Wales
Reflections (1)
• NHS Wales system is simple• Public health system is complex
– Roles and relationships are complex and need time to develop
• Need to engage further with local government– But joint planning embedded in system: Health, Social Care and Wellbeing Strategies
Lessons from home: the view from Wales
Reflections (2)
• Public health is centre stage– Political support and consensus
• Integrated health system in Wales with public health at its core– From Government to grass roots
• Integrated public health system by organisation and by domain– Economies and efficiencies of scale
Lessons from home: the view from Wales
Reflections (3)
• Cross border issues need managing– Health protection issues– Population movement
• System in Wales is not self sufficient– Dependencies on HPA and FSA etc– Professional development– Research and development
Lessons from home: the view from Wales
