Short weekly update from the CEO of Public Health England (PHE), including:

• launch of PHE’s Stay Well This Winter programme, which is all about people staying well and not needing to visit their GP or hospitals because of common winter illnesses
• On Tuesday, World Mental Health Day, a new programme was announced by the Department of Health and PHE which will see one million people trained in basic mental health “first aid” skills. The programme aims to improve people’s ability to look after their own mental health and also know how to respond to and support people who are experiencing a mental health problem.
• Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions are the leading cause of poor health for both men and women. The evidence to support cost-effective interventions is certainly strong, and to support NHS commissioners in acting on this PHE has created a new return on investment tool which tailors results to local areas.
• The Catholics for AIDS Prevention and Support charity has taken a lead on AIDS prevention and they have created a video series called Positive Faith. This programme, funded by PHE’s HIV Innovation Fund and sponsored by Jim McManus, Director of Public Health for Hertfordshire, is a fabulous, pragmatic expression of faith being about life and in this case people living with HIV.
• Summit on policing and public health where PHE discussed their shared aim of intervening early to address the common factors that bring people into contact with the police and criminal justice system and ultimately poor outcomes throughout life.

Duncan Selbie's Friday message: 13 October 2017

Short weekly update from the CEO of Public Health England (PHE), including:

• The Global Burden of Disease study (GBD) describes mortality and morbidity from major diseases, injuries and risk factors to health and crucially can be used to compare health at global, national and regional levels – this has underpinned the publication this year of the first Health Profile for England. The profile lays out that in England, some people enjoy the best health in the world in certain geographies, yet in others people die before their time and spend more years in ill health. The data in the GBD study and that in the health profile allows PHE to focus energies on the right priorities, including cardiovascular disease, air quality, mental health and health and work.
• The World Health Organisation said that the elimination of measles has been achieved for the first time in the UK, just a week after it was announced that England had achieved the target of 95% of children getting their mumps, measles and rubella vaccine by their fifth birthday.
• PHE has published its marketing Strategy for the next three years, setting out priorities and how new technologies are helping to reach people in increasingly meaningful and relevant ways.
• PHE attendance at the New Scientist Live festival of science in London.
• With NHS England, PHE is focusing on preventing cardiovascular disease, and has published their Cardiovascular Disease Action Plan.

Duncan Selbie's Friday message: 29 September 2017

Short weekly update from the CEO of Public Health England (PHE), including:

• Launch of Stoptober 2017 campaign – encouraging smokers to quit smoking for 28 days as they are then 5 times more likely to quit for good.
•  Publication of the latest vaccination figures show that coverage for 1 dose of MMR at five years has for the first time reached the World Health Organisation target of 95%. We must continue to get the message across to parents that this is the best protection that they can obtain for their children against what remains life threatening conditions in many countries. Lest we forget, vaccination comes only second to clean water as the most effective public health intervention in the world.
•  Know Your Number! Week the UK’s biggest blood pressure testing and awareness event. Run by Blood Pressure UK and supported by PHE, this year’s theme is Stop Stroke. High blood pressure is responsible for approximately 60% of strokes and the number of strokes among younger adults is increasing.
• Chief nutritionist Dr Alison Tedstone separates fact from fiction in her latest blog – Clearing up confusion caused by flip-flopping diet news.
• The number of cancers being diagnosed as an emergency presentation fell from 24% in 2006 to 20% in 2014 according to the 4th update of our Routes to Diagnosis project, a key part of England’s efforts to improve cancer survival.
• The It Starts with Me campaign, developed by the Terrence Higgins Trust and commissioned by PHE to cut new HIV infections, swept the board at the British Medical Association Patient Information Awards this week winning the resource of the year award and innovation category.

Duncan Selbie's Friday message: 22 September 2017

Short weekly update from the CEO of Public Health England (PHE), including:

• overview of PHE annual conference this week which brought together over 1500 people. The three themes were addressing inequalities, promoting world-leading science and the economics of prevention.
• new PHE data which shows that liver disease, an almost entirely preventable illness, is now the fourth most common cause of years of life lost in people aged under 75 after heart disease and lung cancer.
• publication of a new Health Economics Evidence Resource, which pulls together the best available cost-effectiveness and return on investment evidence, initially focused on the areas of the public health grant.

Duncan Selbie's Friday message: 15 September 2017

Short weekly update from the CEO of Public Health England (PHE), including:

• PHE staff training activity
• PHE staff survey – running in October
• publication of new analysis from PHE’s Heart Age Test, and the data shows that 1 in 10 men aged 50 have a heart age 10 years older than they are
• PHE signed an accord with National Parks England which will see more proactive and practical work between the two organisations to make the most of the opportunities for the public to go and enjoy natural beauty and time outdoors
• The National Poisons Information service, commissioned by PHE, published its annual report, which lays out the ways the service is used, who by and the impact it has
• publication of three blogs ahead of the PHE annual conference which is taking place next week. This year the conference focuses on three key themes: addressing health inequalities, promoting world leading science and making the economic case for prevention.

Duncan Selbie's Friday message: 8 September 2017

Short weekly update from the CEO of Public Health England (PHE), including:

• last year we saw the biggest drop in smoking among adults in a decade
• public understanding and engagement catching up with evidence,
• an article on the relationship between evidence and policy making
• launch of a consultation on a strategy for London
•  launch of Active 10, a new physical activity campaign, urging people to do at least one brisk 10 minute walk a day
•  PHE has worked with the Department of Communities and Local Government to provide guidance on creating healthier food environments.

Duncan Selbie's Friday message: 25 August 2017

Short weekly update from the CEO of Public Health England (PHE), including:

• PHE providing support in Freetown,Sierra Leone, to  the Sierra Leone Government as they come to terms with the loss and the aftermath of the landslide caused by severe flooding
• one year since the Government launched the Childhood Obesity Plan.  The next phase of work begins – PHE has been asked by the Government to extend the focus to excess calorie consumption in children.
• Physical activity guidelines for adults- including the World Health Organisation Draft Global Action Plan on Physical Activity, which PHE contributed to.
• finalists for Finance for the Future Awards 2017 were announced this week – PHE has been shortlisted for the public and not for profit award.
• PHE’s annual conference takes place in four weeks time.

Duncan Selbie's Friday message: 18 August 2017

Short weekly update from the CEO of Public Health England (PHE), including:

• Publication of the Government’s Air Quality plan, and Local Authorities have been given a central role, with PHE tasked with providing close support.
• NICE and PHE recently published joint guidance on outdoor air quality and health
• World Hepatitis Day – PHE has published Hepatitis C in the UK, a report which shows there has been a further decline in UK deaths over the past two years
• PHE’s national sugar reduction programme is well underway, and the food industry is fully engaged and on the case
• New employer toolkits to help improve the health of their workforce

Duncan Selbie's Friday message: 28 July 2017

Short weekly update from the CEO of Public Health England (PHE), including:

• PHE Porton -PHE’s science, research and development camp in Wiltshire
• launch of Change4Life 10 Minute Shake Up programme – a free, happy way to encourage children to be more active in the home or out and about
• publication of the new Tobacco Control Plan with its focus on vulnerable groups
• a review of the health intelligence function
• Improving access to local green space – Ordnance Survey has launched, with PHE support, an interactive digital map and database identifying accessible greenspace in Britain
• publication of PHE’s annual report for 2016/17

Duncan Selbie's Friday message: 21 July 2017

Short weekly update from the CEO of Public Health England (PHE), including:

• Publication of PHE’s first Health Profile for England, bringing together the wealth of population data to give a broad picture of the health of people in England today.  Together with an easy-to-read blog, outlining the 10 key messages
• Publication of the Government’s new Drugs Strategy, strongly informed by PHE’s comprehensive Drugs Evidence Review
• new framework to assist local government both in reducing children and young people’s risk of child sexual exploitation (CSE) and intervening when it does happen
• series of infographics on natural and built environment – Spatial Planning for Health: An evidence resource for use by local planners, public health teams and local communities to help them develop Local Plans and deliver building projects to link good design and health
• Project SEARCH

Duncan Selbie's Friday message: 14 July 2017