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

• publication of a joint response to the Mental Health Taskforce’s Five Year Forward View for Mental Health – along with a comprehensive package of measures to improve mental health support in schools, workplaces and communities announced by the Prime Minister.
• an update to the cross-government suicide prevention strategy was published alongside a number of new resources from PHE to help local decision makers improve support for those bereaved by suicide
• publication of an updated Atlas of Variation in NHS Diagnostic Services in England
• reviewing data to address variation in services at local CCG level
• publication of a new resource for directors of public health, police and crime commissioners and other local leaders on addressing the sharp inequalities experienced by people who have been in prison or in police custody at some point in their life. Rebalancing Act aims to support collaborative work between criminal justice and health agencies and a much broader range of local partners.
• the Local Government Association has drawn attention to the latest evaluation of the NHS Health Check.  This study suggests that the programme has prevented up to 8,400 heart attacks and strokes and that statins were 40% more likely to be prescribed to attendees compared with non-attendees.
• Be Clear on Cancer campaign pilot began across the North West of England, funded by Cancer Research UK and aimed at increasing participation of 60–74 year olds in the NHS bowel cancer screening programme. Subject to the evaluation of the pilot, the campaign will be rolled out across England from next year.

Duncan Selbie's Friday message: 13 January 2017

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

• Happy New Year and first message of 2017 is also the first to be hosted on PHE’s blog, Public Health Matters
• Dr Mary E. Black, PHE’s head of digital strategy, published a blog on the BMJ about the profound effect that smoking has had on her family and the responsibility that we all have to make the NHS a place that provides a supportive tobacco-free environment for everyone – well worth a read
• New Year resolutions – PHE was there to support people with three new campaigns:
  • new Be Food Smart app allows people to scan the barcode of more than 112,000 everyday food or drink products to see how much sugar, saturated fat and salt they contain at a glance
  • the How Are You? health quiz for adults to find out where they can take a little action to make a big difference to their health
  • PHE’s Smokefree campaign also took advantage of the New Year to encourage smokers to quit, with hard hitting TV adverts and a new film featuring children talking about the harms of smoking
• A new package of measures funded by NHS England includes £15 million to support further roll out of the Healthier You: NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme over the next two years across 13 new areas
• The European Centre for Disease Control has been developing standards for the delivery of microbiology in public health, and the recent assessment for the UK confirms the strong and effective infrastructure we have for this work – a great endorsement for our laboratory scientists and microbiologists as we begin the new year
• the recent edition of Public Sector Focus, which features PHE Chief Knowledge Officer Professor John Newton giving his take on the role of digital technology to improve services and outcomes

Duncan Selbie's Friday message: 6 January 2017

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

• Christmas Greetings
• recommendation for newborn babies to have blood spot screen
• new PHE commissioning guidance informed by PHE’s work on homelessness
• a card that reminds GP receptionists and other practice staff of the national patient registration guidance
• PHE knowledge and library service

Duncan Selbie's Friday message: 23 December 2016

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

• PHE’s support of the federal government of Pakistan and the provincial government of Punjab to develop an integrated disease surveillance and response system
• the Government’s response to the Health Select Committee’s report of its inquiry into the new public health system post-2013, whether it has achieved its aims, and where further improvements might benecessary. They made 23 recommendations covering every aspect of the new system including the role of local government, the NHS, cross-government and PHE itself
• E-cigarettes
• launch of new PHE campaign in partnership with the UK Sepsis Trust to help parents of children under 5 identify the symptoms of sepsis to help support earlier diagnosis of this potentially life-threatening condition
• publication of the Health Survey for England – with lots of data

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

• PHE and NHS England new joint HIV prevention initiative
• New data published by the British Thoracic Society shows that many NHS hospitals still have a long way to go to meet national standards on helping patients who smoke to quit and implementing completely smokefree estates.  Plus the review of smoking  cessation and smoke-free policies and practices across 146 UK hospitals
• In the fight against childhood obesity, Treasury announced legislation to bring its Soft Drinks Industry Levy into law in April 2018
• Paris climate agreement
• new film featuring the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir as part of the Stay Well This Winter campaign

Duncan Selbie's Friday message: 9 December 2016