Bristol City Council
Introduction
Bristol enjoys a reputation as a vibrant, thriving city with a good quality of life. With a population of around 494,400 it is one of England’s core cities. It is rapidly growing, with a relatively young and increasingly diverse population.
Bristol is culturally, socially and economically varied, with some stark contrasts. Areas among the most deprived 1% in the country lie alongside affluent areas. Bristol ranks as one of the healthiest of the core cities, but within the city there are large differences in health and life expectancy. Almost a quarter of Bristol children grow up in poverty. Bristol has high rates of obesity, drug and alcohol misuse, TB and sexually transmitted infections.
The purpose of public health is to improve the health of the population by promoting health, preventing disease and reducing inequality.
Public health action focuses on population and community level interventions to create conditions for health.
Our work focuses on four areas of practice:
● Health improvement
● Health protection
● Reducing health inequality and increasing equity
● Healthy healthcare services
Specific public health knowledge and skills include epidemiology, evidence-based practice, social and behavioural sciences, public health policy, science, research and evaluation.
Public Health outcomes are only ever achieved by many people and organisations working together. We therefore work to meet the statutory duties to protect and improve health and to reduce health inequalities through a One Council, One City, One System approach, as illustrated below.
High performing Public Health Services + Health and wellbeing the heart of all COUNCIL business + Health and wellbeing at the heart of the CITY partnerships = HEALTHY BRISTOL
Public Health in Bristol is based on five key ambitions:
● Communities will be at the heart of all policy and practice
● We will build prevention into all policy and practice
● Bristol will be a safer and healthier place for everyone
● Health and Care will be equitable and health promoting
● There will be less inequality and more equality and social justice
Public Health in Bristol
In 2013 Public Health became a statutory function of the local authority. This placed a duty on the local authority to take action to improve the health of its population and to reduce health inequality.
This duty relates to both public health programmes funded by the public health grant, but also to everything the council does, and can do, to create the conditions for health and reducing inequalities.
The Director of Public Health leads the Communities and Public Health Division within Bristol City Council. This is a joint appointment with the Secretary of State, and is a statutory officer of the council, whilst providing specialist public health expertise to the NHS.
The Director for Communities and Public Health (also known as the Director of Public Health) is responsible for the following services and functions:
- Public Health
- Environmental Health
- Communities Team
- Community Safety
Bristol’s public health function is delivered through programmes, each led by a Consultant in Public Health or Head of Service: Healthy Children and Families, Healthy People, Healthy Place, Population Health and Sexual Health, Public Health Programmes, Health Protection and Inclusion (which includes a 7 day a week duty desk for acute response).
Public Health in Bristol City Council
Following elections in May 2024, the council continued to have no overall political control. The Green Party was the largest party with the leader of the council appointed. There are 70 councillors across 34 wards. The 9 committee chair positions are shared between the Greens and Liberal Democrats. Public Health has its own committee, but all the committees are encouraged to consider health and wellbeing in their decision-making processes.
The council is a member of the West of England Combined Authority and has a Bristol City Youth Council with an elected group of young people (11-18) with a purpose to express young people’s views on decisions that are important to them.
The new Bristol City Council Corporate Strategy, the main strategic document for the council, sets out a 5-year vision of working together for a sustainable and equitable Bristol that enables everyone to be safe, well and thrive.
Public Health in the One City System
The One City Approach brings together a wide range of public, private, and third sector partners within Bristol. They share an aim to make Bristol a fair, healthy and sustainable city; a city of hope and aspiration, where everyone can share in its success. A One City Plan documents these aims and targets, which are delivered through themed partnership Boards: this includes the Health and Wellbeing Board which has a statutory function. The Health and Wellbeing Board works closely with the Children and Young People’s Board, the Culture Board, The Economy and Skills board, the Environment Board, the Homes and Communities Board, and the Transport Board.
Public Health Training in Bristol
Public Health Registrars on placement in Bristol City Council are valued members of the Bristol team, alongside their wider training on the South West Public Health Training Scheme. Each registrar plans their work programme with their Educational Supervisor and typically can work across programme area to gain a breadth of experience and benefit from a range of supervisors.
Educational Supervisors:
- Sally Hogg - Speciality Tutor for Bristol City Council, Consultant in Public Health. Healthy People, Healthy Place Programme
- Christina Gray - Director for Communities & Public Health
- Julie Northcott – Deputy Director of Public Health, Health protection and Inclusion Programme
- Jo Williams – Consultant in Public Health, Healthy Children and Families Programme. Consultant Senior Lecturer, University of Bristol.
- Joanna Copping - Consultant in Public Health, Sexual Health and Population Health Programme
- Beth Bennett-Britton – Consultant in Public Health, Healthy Children and Families Programme.
Activity Supervisors
- Carol Slater – Head of Service, Public Health
- Penny Germon – Head of Service, Communities
A number of other senior members of the public health team are accredited Activity Supervisors and experienced in working with registrars and other trainees towards achievement of learning outcomes.
Learning environment
Public Health Bristol offers a rich learning environment for registrars. Registrars from other specialties – Community Reproductive and Sexual Health, Paediatrics, Population Health fellows and Primary Care Fellows, GP Scholars fellows – regularly undertake training placements in the public health team.
It is an expectation that the service supports public health education and specialty training at all levels, and we pride ourselves in being a centre of excellence for training in Bristol. The first group of three public health apprentices graduated in 2024 with a Degree in Public Health and a Certificate of Public Health Practitioner Registration, and the latest cohort of public health and environmental health apprentices will graduate in 2026. We also support a range of research and evaluation programmes with academic partners across the city.
Specialty registrars, other trainees and consultants are based in City Hall on College Green in the centre of the city, together with the rest of the communities and public health division.
Agile working is actively encouraged and supported across the council with all staff having laptops and supporting technology to work in a variety of locations.
Registrars are an integral part of the Communities & Public Health Division within the People Directorate, participating in the Director’s Management Team meetings, all staff meetings, training opportunities, collaborative learning, and a monthly touch point with the Specialty Tutor. Learning for consultant practice is consolidated through in house reflective learning sessions. These are regular hourly sessions when registrars meet with a consultant or senior public health programme manager to discuss day to day challenges of public health practice.
Wider Partnerships and Opportunities
- Integrated Care System and the NHS Bristol public health team work closely with NHS colleagues in the ICB and wider Integrated Care System (ICS). DsPH and ICB CMO meet fortnightly as a leadership team. A Population Health community of practice meets monthly and brings together public health colleagues with various ICB colleagues including from Population Health Management and health inequalities and prevention work. This provides good links and opportunities for experience in healthcare public health, population health and systems leadership.
- Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) There are numerous opportunities for joint work with OHID.
- UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) The specialist health protection function in the local public health team works closely with UKHSA. Registrars contribute to the out of hours health protection on call rota with UKHSA
- Academic Links Bristol has excellent links with the two Universities in the city – the University of the West of England (UWE) and the University of Bristol. Registrars have opportunities to further their academic learning, as well as teaching and research opportunities. The Bristol department has strong links with the local National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) infrastructure, which brings opportunities for collaborative research and access to training and seminars. The department has a range of active research collaborations with University of Bristol including the NIHR School for Public Health Research, and the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit..
- Bristol Health Partners The Council is a partner in Bristol Health Partners – a collaboration across local NHS Trusts, universities and the councils, to promote health and improved service delivery through integration and development of health services, research and education. Several consultants are Co-directors of the specific Health Integration Teams (HITS), e.g. sexual health, Healthy Weight, Drugs and Alcohol and SHINE.
The Public Health Registrar Perspective
Examples of recent registrars’ work:
- Supporting the recommissioning of public health nursing services in Bristol
- Contract and service review of Bristol’s Child Home Safety Scheme
- Annual Health Protection Report
- Leading on the implementation of the Why Weight? Pledge for creating Healthier places Together’ across the integrated care system: a whole system’s approach to improving the health of the local population and reducing weight stigma.
- Supporting the evaluation design of Bristol’s ‘Swap to Stop’ smoking cessation service
What registrars say about Bristol
- "Bristol offers an incredibly wide range of opportunities for involvement in the full breadth of public health work in a rapidly changing and complex urban setting. Such diversity lends itself well to tailoring work to your learning needs, regardless of stage of training."
- "Bristol's large public health ream are a great resource to tap into!"
- "I have found the team are really interested in you making the most of learning opportunities to meet learning outcomes."
- "I have enjoyed working with a really diverse range of colleagues; clinicians specialists, commissioners, health promoters, community champions, managers, councillors, council staff, academics, community organisations and Bristol residents."
Key contacts
For more information please contact:
Sally Hogg, Consultant in Public Health and Bristol Specialty Tutor
Sally.hogg@bristol.gov.uk
Communities & Public Health Division
Bristol City Council
City Hall
College Green
Bristol
BS1 5TR
This page was last updated February 2026