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

• Congratulations to the Right Honourable Jeremy Hunt MP on his reappointment as Health Secretary
• The latest data on smoking prevalence
• NHS sustainability and transformation partnerships (STPs)
• New findings presented at the Cancer Data and Outcomes Conference
• The latest edition of Health Matters focusing on child dental health
• PHE supported the UK’s first National Clean Air Day.

Duncan Selbie's Friday message: 16 June 2017

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

• Professor David Heymann, Chair of PHE, convened his final board meeting this week as he comes to the end of his term of office
• Today is World TB Day – in England we have seen tuberculosis (TB) cases drop by a third over the past four years
• The use of whole genome sequencing (WGS) to identify different strains of TB faster and more accurately
• The launch of a new interactive Facebook messenger ChatBot, Breastfeeding Friend (BFF), offering personal support at any time of the day or night – to support mums to breastfeed for longer
• PHE and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are piloting a new national system to help record and monitor the harmful effects of NPS (new psychoactive substances), allowing experts to analyse the information and identify patterns of symptoms and harms
• The Government Science and Engineering profession strategy.

Duncan Selbie's Friday message: 24 March 2017

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

• Alongside new figures published by the Office for National Statistics today showing suicide prevalence in England by occupation, PHE has developed a new guide for employers on suicide prevention in partnership with the Samaritans and Business in the Community, published today, to be used in conjunction with the PHE-BITC Mental Health Toolkit for Employers
• Publication of the first update on the Everybody Active, Every Day national framework for increasing physical activity
• Publication of PHE’s Hepatitis C in England 2017 report
• Advisory board for the #I will campaign, which aims to make social action part of life for all young people by 2020
• The four Health Protection Research Units (HPRUs) based at Imperial College showcased their progress and achievements
• The Respiratory HPRU team has been awarded a Medical Research Council grant to conduct phase 1 studies in humans of new interventions for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)
• A thank you to PHE’s scientists who have been offering interactive workshops to primary and secondary schools in Harlow this week, encouraging children to think about science as a future career as part of British Science Week.

Duncan Selbie's Friday message: 17 March 2017

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

• PHE’s response to the 200 submissions received during their recent consultation on the redesign of the National Infection Service (NIS)
• launch of a new campaign in the North West to highlight the dangers of taking antibiotics when you don’t need them and to trust in your doctor’s advice.  The North West was chosen as the pilot as they have a high prescribing rate, and PHE will use the results to assess whether this should be rolled out across the country.
• Local Government Association published a new set of case studies to provide local areas with examples of good practice and practical insight to support their work on suicide prevention
• First workshop of the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) training partners with the World Health Organization
• Health Check 2017, an annual review of progress on developing a sustainable health and care system in England, shows that PHE continues to be one of the leading organisations in ensuring that our health system is sustainable: environmentally, socially, and financially
• CATRIN, the Welsh version of PHE’s award-winning National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service in England, is now live for the whole of Wales, meaning national data on cancer is now seamlessly collected and quality assured across both countries.

Duncan Selbie's Friday message: 24 February 2017

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

• publication of the PHE alcohol evidence review -which shows people are drinking twice as much as they did 40 years ago and there are more than one million hospital admissions relating to alcohol each year, half of which occur among the most deprived groups
• call to every NHS Trust in England, asking for their help towards a tobacco-free NHS
• latest edition of Health Matters on increasing the uptake of HIV testing
• a poll into the general public’s awareness and perceptions of PHE and various different health issues.  The results show that public recognition of PHE continues to grow, with a 9% increase to 50% compared with 41% in 2015 , and public  confidence in PHE advice has also reached its highest level
• latest special edition of the Town and Country Planning Association Journal focuses on the influence of built and natural environments on our health

Duncan Selbie's Friday message: 2 December 2016

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

• Congratulations to four examples of “fabulous things” going on across PHE
• Food Matters Live, a cross-sector event bringing together the food and drink industry, retailers and those working in nutrition to discuss food, health and how to tackle Britain’s obesity crisis
• PHE has been chosen to co-host the 7th International Congress on Physical Activity and Public Health in 2018, in partnership with the International Society for Physical Activity and Health, the European network for the promotion of health-enhancing physical activity and Sport England
• National HIV Testing Week
• new resource that pulls together the evidence on interventions to change risk behaviours and promote cognitive health in people aged 55 and above.

Duncan Selbie's Friday message: 25 November 2016

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

• update from Sierra Leone where PHE staff are supporting the transition of three Ebola laboratories to a mainstream microbiology service
• Tesco and Lucozade Ribena Suntory have announced plans to ensure that all their own brand sugary drinks are below the sugar threshold set by the forthcoming government levy
• PHE and WHO joint conference on prisons and health in Copenhagen
• Commissioning for Quality and Innovation indicators have been set for the next two years, with four of the 13 indicators focusing on prevention
• publication of a ‘menu of interventions’, setting out evidenced actions that can improve people’s health, support quality improvement and save money for the NHS and the wider system over five years – they would welcome feedback

Duncan Selbie's Friday message: 11 November 2016

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

• UK Public Health Rapid Support Team – launched on Tuesday, this specialist team of health experts will be ready to deployto tackle a health crisis anywhere in the world within 48 hours – where speed is key in dealing with public health  emergencies
• Local Tobacco Control Profiles were updated
• A number of updates to the Public Health Outcomes Framework
• Improving Lives: Work, Health and Disability – a green paper that proposes a new plan to halve the disability  employment gap by 2020 including for those with long-term conditions
• A recent paper published by PHE highlights some of the work of the police collaborating with health to improve outcomes for local people through innovation and collaboration
• The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health recommends that every local area should have a suicide prevention plan in place by 2017 – and PHE has published guidance on this.
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  Duncan Selbie's Friday message: 4 November 2016