South Gloucestershire Council

Public Health Specialty Registrar Training Prospectus

Introduction

South Gloucestershire has a rich natural and cultural heritage. It is a mixed urban and rural authority of great diversity located in the South West of England. The area stretches from the Severn Estuary in the west to the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the east. Its southern boundary borders the city of Bristol. The area is well served by the M4 and M5 motorways and has good rail links.

The population of South Gloucestershire is estimated to be 290,400 (based on the 2020 census). This is an increase of 10.5% compared to the recorded population in 2011 (262,800). Sixty percent of the population live in the built-up areas immediately adjoining Bristol, namely Filton, Patchway, Bradley Stoke, Kingswood, Downend, Staple Hill and Hanham. Around 19% live in the towns of Yate, Chipping Sodbury and Thornbury and the remaining 21% live in the more rural areas of South Gloucestershire.

Structure of the Training Location

The Public Health and Wellbeing (PHWB) Division is part of the People Department within South Gloucestershire Council. The purpose of the PHWB Division is to promote and protect the health and wellbeing of the population of South Gloucestershire, reduce inequalities and improve population health outcomes.

Prescribed and recommended public health functions are delivered by the PHWB Division through a combination of:

direct service provision

the commissioning of services and programmes

public health leadership and expertise to influence and inform strategies and work programmes across the Council, its partners and the local health and care system, supported by data and intelligence on local population health need and an evidence base for effective interventions.

As a Division we work with partners across the system to improve health and wellbeing and reduce inequalities through: 

Providing expert technical advice (intelligence, surveillance, research, evidence & evaluation)

Prevention: reducing the incidence of ill health supporting healthier lifestyle

Protection: surveillance and monitoring of infectious disease, emergency response and immunisation

Promotion: providing expert advice, health education & commissioning services to meet specific health needs

Commissioning and delivering public health services.

These principles describe our culture and approach to ensure we can deliver on our priorities:

Our work is driven by population outcomes, equity, and evidence (including developing the evidence-base).
We utilise our public health skillset in a flexible manner so that we are able to adapt to and respond to current and new challenges.

We work in partnership with others and have an inclusive approach to collaboration and coproduction.
Time to plan, reflect and learn together is integrated into the working of the Division. Personal and professional development is encouraged.

Everyone feels they are in a position and have the confidence to lead, influence and challenge.
Innovation and creativity is encouraged. We accept a proportionate level of risk to allow us to develop services, test ideas and evaluate in order to learn what works and what could have gone better.
We take a trauma-informed approach and aim to integrate knowledge about trauma into everything we do.

The Public Health and Wellbeing Division is led by the Director of Public Health, Sarah Weld. The division’s teams work across a range of Public Health focus areas:

Inclusion Health (Drugs and Alcohol, Adult Mental Health and multiple disadvantage)
Healthy Foundations (Children, Young People and Families)
Healthy Communities
Health Protection, Sexual Health and Emergency Planning
Evidence and Population Health Intelligence (EPI)
Strategy, Systems and Partnerships
Public Health Leadership Team (PHLT)

Organisation of Training

South Gloucestershire Council is a training location within the South West Public Health Training Programme, overseen by Severn Postgraduate Medical Education.

Lynn Gibbons is the Specialty Tutor for the training location and has regular links with the training programme. Registrars, Consultants and Specialist Public Health Managers meet formally on a quarterly basis to review registrar workloads, potential projects and provide an opportunity for Registrars to make suggestions, raise concerns and share examples of good practice. Registrars and the Specialty Tutor meet monthly for peer support and update and for a formal teaching session.

South Gloucestershire Council operates a hot-desking arrangement and all Registrars are provided with a desk within this arrangement, laptop, landline (mobile phone not included), email address and remote access. Close working within the relatively small team results in a flexible and supportive working environment providing numerous opportunities to suit Registrar training needs.

Supervisors

By the end of 2025 we will have five fully trained Educational Supervisors within the team including four Consultants and our Director of Public Health.

We have a range of activity supervisors in the Public Health team, in other parts of the Council and with partners. Both our Specialist Public Health Managers are activity supervisors, as are our programme leads and other key colleagues within all elements of the Public Health division. We also have activity supervisors across the Local Authority, including in Sustainability and Climate Change, the Commissioning team and Environmental Health. We have also developed links with partners including North Bristol NHS Acute Trust and BNSSG ICB to enable projects to be carried out by Registrars within healthcare settings, and host a joint Built Environment/Planning focussed placement with UWE Bristol.

Educational Supervisor Portfolios

Sarah Weld is the Director of Public Health (DPH) for South Gloucestershire Council. She trained in the South West and worked in South Gloucestershire Council as a Consultant and Deputy Director before becoming DPH in 2022. Sarah is passionate about public health and social justice and has a particular interest in health care public health and health improvement. She is a Visiting Professor, Centre for Public Health and Wellbeing, UWE Bristol, and Honorary Senior Lecturer to the University of Bristol.

Lynn Gibbons is specialty tutor and has been at South Gloucestershire Council since her CCT in 2017. A marine scientist by background, Lynn worked in sustainable development and sustainable health before Public Health training (in the West Midlands). Her portfolio includes children and young people (including CYP mental health), poverty and financial security and the wider determinants of health. She is the Specialty Tutor for South Gloucestershire.

Gemma Morgan (on maternity leave until Sept 2025) has been a consultant in South Glos Council since CCT in 2018, having undertaken clinical academic public health training locally, including completing a PhD through an NIHR Fellowship. Gemma is a medical doctor and holds the public health portfolios of health protection and emergency planning; evidence, intelligence, and population health; and academic public health.

Two more Educational Supervisors (Bethan Loveless and Maddy Gupta-Wright) to be added in October 2025.

What do Registrars Think of South Gloucestershire?

I’ve started in South Gloucestershire Council as my second Local Authority training placement. It’s a really welcoming team with a strong emphasis on developing a sense of ‘team’ alongside learning and working in projects and programmes. With my supervisor I’ve been able to shape my workstreams to help me work towards completing specific learning outcomes and to identify pieces of work to help me get a broad experience and develop both professional and personal skills.

The team has a real focus on Registrar development with regular catch ups and CPD sessions. I’m regularly encouraged to pick up projects, access training or attend sessions that will help to enhance my Registrar experience. I’ve had great support from my Educational Supervisor and it’s helpful to have such an engaged and helpful wider team to support my learning.
CC, on placement in SG as ST3 Registrar

I started in South Gloucestershire Council as my first training placement within the public health specialty training programme. From the moment I joined, I felt welcomed into a team that truly valued registrar development. The supportive environment allowed me to take on a diverse range of projects that aligned with my learning outcomes and interests. During the placement, I had the opportunity to contribute to key public health initiatives, from shaping population health interventions to supporting projects that directly impact communities. My educational and activity supervisors were instrumental in guiding me through my training, ensuring I gained both technical expertise and the confidence to take on leadership roles. Regular teaching sessions, engaging discussions, and encouragement to explore new areas of work also contributed to making this an incredibly enriching experience.

PO, on placement in SGC as ST1 Registrar

I was in South Gloucestershire for almost a year, having started as an ST2 after finishing my Health Protection Placement. The team were incredibly welcoming, dedicated and enthusiastic, and I was able to get stuck into substantial pieces of work such as the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment and the Director of Public Health's Annual report whilst also preparing for the MFPH. I found that there are always lots of different opportunities for projects and that Educational Supervisors and Activity Supervisors pay attention to how those projects meet learning outcomes. As an ST3 I was co-lead on the Ageing Well portfolio, alongside other pieces of work on things like Financial Security, Drugs, Alcohol and Sexual Health, and Diabetes Management. These gave me the opportunity to work more closely with partners and take more responsibility for areas of work. Overall, South Gloucestershire is a great place to work, and a great group of people to work with to develop Public Health skills and confidence.
DG, on placement in SGC as ST3 Registrar

South Gloucestershire Council was my first placement as a public health registrar, and I couldn’t have asked for a more supportive place to begin my training. I arrived to lots of potential project ideas already available, but was also able to tailor some of my work to my own specific areas of interest. Every single person I was supervised by is passionate, dedicated and really supportive of registrars.
ES, on placement in SG as ST2 Registrar

I started in South Gloucestershire Council in ST2 having moved from Field Services at PHE I found everyone, at all levels, to be very welcoming, encouraging and supportive. There was appropriate attention to working towards learning outcomes but also space to develop confidence and professional skills in general and it was a very enjoyable training experience.
CF, on placement in SG as ST2 Registrar

Continuing Professional Development

When based with South Gloucestershire Council, Registrars are enabled to attend Training Programme tutorials and encouraged to attend any in-house training that is of interest. Registrar meetings and teaching sessions are held monthly, with additional teaching sessions arranged across BNSSG. Registrars are also invited to attend Divisional Extended Management Team meetings as well as Management Team CPD discussions lead by internal and external colleague. The Division also runs a ‘tea and chat’ and a ‘lunch and learn’ series as well as a journal club.

What is unique About South Gloucestershire?

South Gloucestershire residents tend to have better health outcomes than the national average. But this is not the case for everybody in our community. Our population experiences higher than average levels of depression and there are significant inequalities in preventable deaths, obesity and alcohol-related illness. We have a growing number of children eligible for free school meals and the educational attainment gap between those with and without free school meals is widening.

We are seeing a growing number of people living fewer years in good health because of preventable diseases like some cancers, type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The poorest in our society are most at risk of these diseases.

Recent challenges have widened inequalities.South Gloucestershire has the most productive economy in the South West, which has contributed to the area's low level of relative deprivation. However, this is not everybody’s experience, and the number of local children and families living in poverty is growing. Rurality, transport and access to services are sources of inequality. South Gloucestershire is a largely rural area and access to services can be a challenge. This impacts most on residents without access to transport and those who are less mobile.

Population changes are likely to further widen inequalities. South Gloucestershire’s population is growing, and ageing faster than the England average. These both present their own challenges, particularly in meeting the increasing demand for infrastructure such as housing, healthcare, education and transport. By 2041 the over-75 population is projected to increase by 11.4%. We are likely to see an increase in residents impacted by caring responsibilities, social isolation, falls, alcohol dependency and poor oral health. In addition, current services are often not located in areas where older people live. Climate change will also widen inequalities.Flooding is identified as the number one risk to the UK from climate change and we have already seen an increase in the number and severity of flooding events impacting the local area.

South Gloucestershire Council offers Registrars the opportunity to work across a number of different Divisions within the organisation, for example with the planning team via the Built Environment Partnership Officer post, with climate change and sustainability, and with the environmental health and licensing teams through the Safer, Stronger Partnership.

The South Gloucestershire Public Health & Wellbeing Division has excellent working relationships with external partners offering Registrars a wide range of opportunities to work closely with, for example the ICB, UKSHA and OHID. The University of the West of England is based in South Gloucestershire and we have developed good academic links and shared workstreams.

Examples of Recent Work

I am an ST3 just coming to the end of a 1-year placement at South Gloucestershire. I have had the opportunity to work on a variety of projects, work with various members of the South Gloucestershire public health team, engage with other teams within the council, and collaborate with public health teams in neighbouring local authorities. South Gloucestershire has been a welcoming and supportive training location, and I have been supported to undertake a Public Health MSc, as well as the DFPH and MFPH exams during my time here. Examples of projects I have been working on include: a gambling rapid needs assessment, work related to public health nursing recommissioning, and work related to suicide prevention. I also had the opportunity to undertake a project at a local NHS trust for 1 day a week during my time at South Gloucestershire.

AD, placement in SGC as ST3 Registrar

At South Gloucestershire, I worked on a wide range of projects including leading on a tobacco health needs assessment and the annual Director of Public Health report which focused on inequalities in the outcomes of children and young people in the local area. One impactful project I worked on was preparing a business case for the expansion of community health promotion hubs across the South Gloucestershire area. Working closely with Primary Care Networks (PCNs) and the South Gloucestershire Locality Partnership, I made a case for why these hubs were a crucial part of improving access to care, promoting wellbeing, and reducing pressure on primary care services. As a result, the business case helped secure funding from the Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG) Integrated Care Board to finance the hubs for two years. This experience reinforced the important role that we play as public health professionals in advocating for communities, influencing decision-making, and securing the resources needed to implement impactful interventions.

PO, placement in SGC as ST1 Registrar

Previous Registrars

In my year at South Gloucestershire I was able to work on multiple projects across wide public health remit. I lead on the delivery of the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment, and the Director of Public Health's annual report which focused on clean air and climate change. I then co-led the Ageing Well portfolio, specifically an Adult Social Care focused Ageing Well Needs Assessment, and worked on the development of a financial security framework for the council to address the ongoing impacts of the cost-of-living crisis and beyond, and created an action plan for implementing Equalities recommendations across Drug, Alcohol and Sexual Health Services. In addition, I work on a project across the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board footprint to appraise Type 2 Diabetes Management options. I feel I was able to work with partners across the system and from across the public health team, to lead on pieces of work, and tailor projects to meet specific learning outcomes."
DG, on placement in SGC as ST3 Registrar

At South Gloucestershire, I was well supported in preparing for both the Diplomate and Membership exams. I was given increasing responsibility as my own knowledge and skills have developed, as well as having opportunities to work with partners from across the wider public health, health and social care systems. Examples of work I was involved with include the development of a new drugs strategy for South Gloucestershire, producing a trauma-informed Knowledge and Skills Framework for professionals working in a range of organisations across Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, and leading on community outreach for COVID-19 surge testing.
ES, placement in SG as ST2 Registrar

As my first local authority placement, I wanted to experience the breadth of public health from a LA perspective and was given the option of a number of diverse projects including developing the Health & Wellbeing Board Strategy, Children & Young People’s Mental Health & Emotional Wellbeing Needs Assessment, work on financial insecurity and health protection assurance.
CF, placement in SG as ST2 Registrar

Key Contacts

For further information, please contact:

Lynn Gibbons, Consultant in Public Health & Specialty Tutor (Tel: 01454 865747, email lynn.gibbons@southglos.gov.uk)

South Gloucestershire Council

Public Health Department
South Gloucestershire Council Offices
Badminton Road
Yate
South Gloucestershire
BS37 5AF

This page was last updated April 2025

This page was last updated December 9th 2021 (3 years ago)