The South West Population and Public Health Academy brings together the South West Public Health Training Programme and Public Health Workforce Development Programmes.
This joint newsletter will provide highlights and updates which we hope will be useful for Public Health colleagues across the South West.
Newsletters are created after each Academy Board meeting taking place in January, May and September each year.
Please see below the latest academy newsletter
South West Population and Public Health Academy Newsletter
Autumn 2024
Welcome to our Population and Public Health Academy Newsletter
The South West Population and Public Health Academy brings together the South West Public Health Training Programme and Public Health Workforce Development Programmes. This joint newsletter will provide highlights and updates which we hope will be useful for all.
Key Dates for 2024/25
Quality Panel: 26th & 27th November 2024
Specialty Tutor Meetings 2025: 23rd January, 20th March, 14th May, 3rd July 24th September and 19th November 2025
Delivery Group Meetings: 30th January, 7th May & 1st October 2025
SW Public Health Practitioner Scheme Introductory Webinar: 4th December 2024
Health Inequalities Webinar Series: Upcoming webinar 9th December 2024 (Fuel Poverty)
ARCP dates 2025: 16th January, 2nd April, 4th & 5th June, 9th & 10th July, 15th October 2025
Contact gemma.cooke10@nhs.net if you would like to attend as an observer at our ARCPs.
Supervisor Training dates 2025: 5th February and 8th October 2025
Scientific Conference: 18th March 2025 (face to face, Bristol)
Training Conference: 18th June 2025
Training Programme update
These continue to be busy and challenging times in the NHS. We appreciate all the continued hard work and support from our Registrars, Specialty Tutors, Supervisors and colleagues. The Training Programme continues with regular communication with the Specialty Tutor group and StRs by conducting bi-monthly virtual meetings and attending monthly tutorials. We have also enjoyed seeing more colleagues at face-to-face meetings, events and from reintroducing face to face Quality visits. The team have now relocated to a permanent new office at 100 Temple Street, Bristol and have been spending time getting used to the new office environment and networking with colleagues.
Development School 2024
The South West Public Health Development School took place in Taunton and via MS teams (hybrid delivery) on the 16 th October 2024. With thanks to the event planning group for their hard work and support to deliver this event. Thank you to all those who presented and contributed to make the event as successful as it was. Initial feedback from the well-attended event is excellent. The presentations and recordings of the day are now available to view on Academy’s new Futures Platform. South West Public Health Development School - South West Population and Public Health Academy - FutureNHS Collaboration Platform
If you have issues accessing this, please contact england.publichealth.sw@nhs.net.
Health Inequalities Webinar Series
We continue to deliver our series of webinars covering a wide range of topic areas. Upcoming dates and topics include Fuel Poverty (9th December), Healthy Weight (13th January) and Planning (10th February). To access the recordings of previous webinars please visit the Academy’s Futures Platform.
Scientific Conference 2025
The South West Public Health Scientific Conference will take place on Tuesday 18th March 2025, face to face only at DoubleTree by Hilton Bristol City Centre. The call for abstracts for the event is now open, please see more details on the event webpage or contact the Academy Team if you have any questions. Abstracts should be sent to the Academy team by 17.00 hours on Friday 29th November 2024. Need help with your abstract? The Academy delivered a webinar, led by Academic leads at the University of Bristol and University of the West of England, on how to prepare and submit an abstract for the Scientific Conference. The session was recorded and you can view this on the Academy Futures platform.
Please contact england.publichealth.sw@nhs.net if you have any questions about the event.
Exam Results Congratulations to the following Registrars in the South West who have recently passed the diplomate or membership exam:
DFPH 7 Registrars sat the October exam, the results of which are expected in early December.
MFPH Peter Mennear Anna Goulding Hope Hughes Kenzie-May Nicks
October DFPH Exam Update
There were significant technical issues with the recent online Diplomate (DFPH) exam that took place in early October. The Training Programme are supporting the Registrars who sat this exam and are working with the Faculty of Public Health to reach a resolution ahead of future exams. With thanks to the South West Supervisors and colleagues who are also providing support to the Registrars during what is a challenging time.
South West Behavioural Science Hub
A South West Behavioural Science Conference will take place in Taunton on the 3rd December 2024, registration for this event is now closed and we look forward to seeing colleagues at the event. We will be recording some of the sessions and these will be available on the Futures Platform post the event. Previous webinars can be accessed here.
National Training Survey Results
The Training Programme were delighted to receive the results of the National Training Survey which showed that the South West Training Programme were the top Programme in the UK. With thanks to all Supervisors, Registrars and colleagues who work hard in the South West as this couldn’t have been achieved without you all.
South West Recruitment Update
Alongside service and Academic recruitment in the South West, additional recruitment includes:
• The Team have recruited 7 Population Health Fellows based in each ICB system in the South West and are delivering a learning programme.
• Two candidates have started training on the pilot Dual GP/PH Training Programme in the South West.
• Foundation Year 1 placements started in the South West in August, supported by Plymouth City Council.
• Enhance Programme - Two Foundation placements have been developed and started in August supported by Dorset Healthcare.
For those interested in applying to Train in the South West
There is a dedicated webpage available for those who wish to apply for Specialty Training or to gain more experience in Public Health. The Programme hosted a virtual Open Evening ahead of National Public Health Recruitment and the recording, along with further information, can be found on the Futures Platform here.
For more information on upcoming taster events, and to register, please click here
Apprenticeships in the South West
o Level 6 Public Health Practitioner Apprenticeship - the Academy has part-funded another 7 apprenticeship posts again this year, one in each ICB system and all apprentices commenced the course in September 2024.
o Level 7 Health Care Intelligence Specialist Apprenticeship – the Academy has fully funded 7 apprenticeship posts, one in each of our ICB systems. All are in post and commenced the course.
Supervisor Training
Details of the training required to be an accredited Supervisor in the South West is listed below: All potential Educational, Academic and Activity Supervisors are required to complete the same training which comprise of the completion of modules 1-5 of the Public Health specific Supervisor Training. All 5 modules are delivered by the Training Programme. More information and the dates for 2025 can be found here Please note that supervisors must attend the Public Health specific training. More information and the dates for 2025 can be found here
Please note that supervisors must attend the Public Health specific training delivered by the programme. More information here.
Practitioner Masterclasses
Many practitioners have again benefitted from attending another set of the Faculty of Public Health practitioner masterclasses.
CPD Update
The Faculty of Public Health have revised the Good Public Health Practice Framework that goes live on the 1st December 2024. This guidance provides the basis for good professional practice in public health, setting out the standards which the Faculty expects all members to work at and within. It applies to all members of the core specialist public health workforce, including public health practitioners, specialists and those training to become practitioners and specialists.
Please contact Alison Bell, SW CPD Advisor, for more any questions or support relating to CPD: alison.bell@somerset.gov.uk
Quality Panel and Visits
A key mechanism to understand the quality of education and training is assessed through a Quality Panel. The South West Quality Panels are an annual review of the quality of all training locations. The 2024 Public Health Quality panel took place virtually on the 26 th and 27 th November. Training locations were notified of the process via Specialty Tutors and invited to attend for their allocated slot. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your help and support with developing the training programme over the last year, particularly during these continued challenging times. The Training Programme have reintroduced regular Quality Visits to Training Locations and have enjoyed visiting locations over the last year. With thanks to the locations and teams we have visited, we look forward to more visits in 2025.
First Year as a Consultant Support
The South West Population and Public Health Academy continue to offer new Consultants in Public Health in the South West access to workshops that provide them with a regionally recognised support structure. Please see our dedicated webpage for the First Year as a Consultant support here The next workshop will take place in the Spring.
If you are a new Consultant in Public Health and would like an invite to the workshops or to join the network of new Consultants in the South West, please contact england.publichealth.sw@nhs.net.
Contact us
Maggie Rae Regional Lead for Population and Public Health/ Head of School Maggie.Rae@nhs.net
Diane Lloyd Population and Public Health Specialist Workforce Programme Lead Diane.Lloyd7@nhs.net Tel: 01454 252636
Gemma Cooke Population and Public Health Training Manager Gemma.Cooke10@nhs.net Tel: 01454 252706
Deborah Lear Population and Public Health Workforce Development Programme Lead Deb.Lear@nhs.net t Tel: 07585 995428
If you would like more information on any of these items, please contact england.publichealth.sw@nhs.net