Bath & North East Somerset Council
The Area and Population
Bath and North East Somerset is thriving and diverse, with many needs, strengths, resources and assets. As well as being our main commercial and recreational centre, the World Heritage City of Bath is an international tourist and heritage destination. Our market towns of Keynsham, Midsomer Norton and Radstock combine with rural communities ranging from the foothills of the Mendips, to the Chew Valley in the west and Cotswold villages around Bath.
Despite our area being one of the least deprived authorities in the country, there are significant inequality gaps in education, employment and health outcomes for local residents. The difference in life expectancy between the wards in B&NES with the highest and lowest life expectancy is 10 years for females and 7 years for males. Our more disadvantaged pupils often achieve lower qualifications and fewer go on to sustain education, employment or training after reaching 18 years old.
Home to over 195,000 people, we expect our population to rise to nearly 208,000 by 2028 - the most significant increases will be amongst older people, with a 15% rise in those aged over 65 years. The shape of the population is largely driven by the high number of university students attending the two campus-based universities in the area.
For more information about the B&NES population visit https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/strategic-evidence
The Council and other Local Organisations
B&NES council is a unitary authority, with a majority Liberal Democrat administration. Our Corporate Strategy outlines our major challenges and plans. The council is part of the B&NES, Swindon and Wiltshire (BSW) Partnership; BSW Together. This brings together the NHS, local government and local third sector groups to work together as an integrated care system (ICS). B&NES as a locality continues to have a Health and Wellbeing Board and a Joint health and Wellbeing Strategy.
The Royal United Hospital Foundation NHS Trust provides hospital care to much of the population, with additional services from specialist hospitals in Bristol or elective treatment centres in and around the B&NES area. HCRG Care Group currently provide or oversee the majority of community care and health services, and Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust provides adult mental health services. We have a child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS), that provides specialist services to children and young people who are struggling with a range of different mental health issues. We also have a strong third sector in B&NES, represented by our local membership network 3SG.
An excellent example of partnership working between the third sector, Council, ICB and commissioned services is the Community Wellbeing Hub, which acts as a front door to community services by supporting residents to identify their needs and signposting them to community services to address their needs. A key aim is to provide early intervention and prevent escalation of need, and in doing so reduce system pressures on health and adult social care.
The Training Location
We are based at Keynsham Civic Centre, between Bristol and Bath and close to Keynsham train station. Since the COVID-19 pandemic the team works in a hybrid approach, with at least one working day (Tuesday) based at the Civic Centre. Members of the team can also work out of council offices in the centre of Bath (The Guildhall) to hot desk or have meetings. Registrars are completely integrated into the wider team, are always part of team meetings, away days and join public health management team meetings once they are in phase 2 of training.
Educational Supervision
Becky Reynolds is the Director of Public Health and the strategic public health lead for all relevant council and NHS partnership boards and work programmes.
Amy McCullough leads on health protection, sexual health, some aspects of health improvement, and the wider determinants of health. Amy is also the specialty tutor for B&NES and the first point for external contact about training issues.
Paul Scott is Deputy Director of Public Health and leads on drug and alcohol treatment, public mental health, and health inequalities.
Annette Luker leads on health improvement strategy, public health intelligence, and health care public health including work with the ICS and population health management
Academic Links
The educational supervisors contribute to the public health teaching programme at Bristol University and to the global health master’s at The University of Bath, and registrars are able to get involved in this at an appropriate stage of training. Registrars are supported to consider their academic training needs and recent registrars have carried out research in partnership with Bristol University and Bath University, one going on to undertake a PhD. Educational Supervisors and the wider team also have good links and ongoing interaction with Bath Spa University and the University of West of England.
What B&NES has to offer to Registrars
Public health training in B&NES offers registrars an opportunity to work across all aspects of public health practice, in a forward-thinking public sector environment with a history of good partnership working across all agencies. The working culture is ambitious but pragmatic and registrars make good progress through exams and training phases. Being a smaller team in a unitary authority enables registrars to feel integrated and valued relatively quickly.
The Severn Deanery 2023 Annual Quality Panel concluded that B&NES Council is “an excellent training location where teaching and learning is really a focus. Supervision is excellent and this is tailored to the Registrars who are made to feel welcome and part of the team.”
What Registrars say about Training in B&NES
“It is a great placement to gain Local Authority experience; both due to the supportive and friendly nature of the team and good working relationships that the team has with other Council departments... As it is a small public health team there is no shortage of projects to lead on!”
“I enjoy working in B&NES because it has a collegiate atmosphere and staff and supervisors are very supportive of their registrars.”
“B&NES is a really positive place to work and train. The work is challenging - with urban and rural issues and striking inequalities. It’s interesting working in a smaller unitary authority too. The public health team is friendly and experienced – both in general and with respect to training. It’s a good place for self-starters and we learn a lot from each other”.
Key contacts
For further information, please contact:
Amy McCullough, Consultant in Public Health
Bath and North East Somerset Council
Public Health Department
Keynsham Civic Centre
Market Walk
Keynsham
BS31 1FS
This page was last updated in February 2024