About Us
The Association supports Directors of Public Health (DsPH) in improving and protecting the health of the population by means of policy and advocacy work and membership services, including events, the DPH Annual Report Competition and DPH development. It is currently funded through corporate subscriptions from DPH employers but also seeks project and sponsorship grants according to the Ethical Collaboration and Sponsorship Policy [pdf] (approved at the 2010 AGM).
Every Director of Public Health is a member of the Association by dint of their role, unless they request otherwise. Former DsPH and Deputy DsPH can sign up to be Associate Members.
Membership benefits include:
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the opportunity for involvement in policy-setting and advocacy at a national level;
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networking and communication between members;
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regular communications through e-DPH and the local representative structure;
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events aimed directly at DsPH and their current issues;
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development support for the DPH role.
More detail of our activity can be found in our latest Annual Review [pdf].
Role of the DPH
The role of the Director of Public Health is a complex and challenging one. All DsPH are fully accredited Public Health Specialists and therefore highly skilled technically. They are also Executive members of their Primary Care or regional organisations with leadership and management responsibilities. They are responsible for improving and protecting the health of their population including health and care services and work in partnership with Local Authorities and the voluntary sector. A brief description of the role can be found in the ADPH leaflet [pdf].
Although there are different structures and accountabilities across the four countries of the UK the underlying responsibilities and skills needed are the same for all DsPH. Many DsPH are now jointly accountable to both Local Authority and the NHS. The role of the DPH in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Values and objectives
The Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) has a rich heritage, having its origins more than 150 years ago and its current name since 1989. It is a collaborative organisation working in partnership with others where appropriate in order to both maximise the voice for public health and to minimise the use of resources.
In order to support DsPH in their role the Association aligns itself centrally between the NHS, Local Authority and Public Health. It therefore aims to have close working relationships with national organisations such as the NHS Confederation, the Local Government Association and the Faculty of Public Health. It has a natural links with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Association of Directors of Children's Services in England and the Association of Directors of Social Services in Wales.
The ADPH overall aims are set down in our revised constitution (2010) [pdf]. More detailed objectives and plans can be seen in the Business Plan (2010-2013) which was ratified at the 2010 AGM.
Governance
The ADPH is led by its Executive and managed by the staff. It is governed by its constitution [pdf] and has a framework of policies and protocols within which it functions. The President, honorary officers and Chief Executive have the responsibility of ensuring compliance with the governance structure.
The new representative structure across the UK provides a more democratic and inclusive governance for the ADPH and improves engagement and ownership by DsPH at regional and national levels. Each year there is an Annual General Meeting where the Annual Report and Financial Statement are presented. Relevant documents are available for download:
Annual Review 2009 [pdf]
AGM 2009 minutes [pdf]
Annual Report 2008 [pdf]
AGM 2008 minutes [pdf]
Annual Report 2007 [pdf]
AGM 2007 minutes [pdf]
AGM 2006 minutes [pdf]
The Association is currently hosted within the NHS by Cambridgeshire PCT and therefore follows much of the NHS governance framework including finance and HR protocols and processes.
Executive
The Association is led by the Executive which consists of the President, Honorary officers and member representatives. All members are eligible to stand for membership of the Executive although Honorary officers have to be full members (ie current DsPH). Honorary officers are appointed at the AGM for a term of 3 years. The executive have defined roles and responsibilities [pdf]. For further details of the functioning of the Executive Committee, please refer to the constitution [pdf].
Current Hon officers are:
- President: Frank Atherton (North Lancashire PCT) - contact the President
- Vice President: Chris Packham (Nottingham City PCT)
- Treasurer: Mike Robinson (NHS Hounslow)
- Secretary: Paul Edmondson-Jones (Portsmouth City tPCT)
- Membership Secretary: Judith Hooper (Kirklees PCT)
Current representatives are:
- South West - Rosemary Geller
- South Central - Ruth Milton
- South East - Diana Grice
- London - Ann-Marie Connolly; Quentin Sandifer
- East of England - Andy Liggins; Peter Bradley
- East Midlands - David Black
- West Midlands - Catherine Woodward; Caron Grainger
- North West - Maggi Morris; Janet Atherton
- North East - Miriam Davidson
- Yorkshire & Humberside- Ian Cameron
- Wales - Stephen Monaghan
- Scotland - Lesley Wilkie; Alison McCallum
- Northern Ireland - Carolyn Harper
- Regional DsPH - Paul Cosford
Also Faculty Observer - John Middleton (Sandwell PCT)
and Chief Executive - Nicola Close
Staff
The ADPH office where staff can be contacted is hosted by Cambridgeshire PCT. Each member of staff has specific responsibilities [pdf]. Short biographies can be seen here [pdf].
Chief Executive - Nicola Close - responsible for the efficient and effective management of the Association and the development and delivery of the Business Plan
Policy Manager - Julia Ellis - (part-time) - manages the policy programme as well as events, executive meetings and constitutional matters
Project Manager - Lucy Manning - (part-time) - manages communications with members, the DPH Annual Report Competition and other projects and undertakes high level administration