Learning the lessons

With this month marking the fifth anniversary of the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s worth reflecting on what lessons have been learned and what is being done to make sure we are better prepared for the next pandemic. As Directors of Public Health (DsPH) we played a critical role, and our expertise must shape how we respond in the future.  

We have taken an active role in the ongoing Covid-19 Inquiry and were a core participant in the first module, which focused on pandemic preparedness, giving evidence on behalf of DsPH across the UK’s four countries and dependent territories.  

The Government response to the first module, published earlier this year, shows some progress, but there are still key gaps, particularly in strengthening the role of DsPH in health protection.  

It is vital to address the importance of DsPH and their teams and the role of local government more broadly in health protection. We would like to see the Government clarify the role of DsPH, and their powers, including providing strategic coordination and coherency at a local level, especially in preparing for future pandemics and emergency planning. 

The announcement by the Government of a national pandemic response exercise, which will take place later in 2025, will be an important test of how prepared we are for future pandemics and we hope that the information available following this will lead to further progress in enhancing health protection.  

We have to use the expertise of our highly skilled public health teams in responding to health protection emergencies, in interpreting data, identifying cases, and contact tracing, and deploying these skills effectively in their local communities. Trusted community champions and faith leaders also have a major part to play in disseminating information and empowering local communities by connecting volunteers and residents.  

As well as making our public health infrastructure more resilient, we also need to improve our resilience to disease and illness. Increasing numbers of people are living with largely avoidable health conditions, and, during the pandemic, those with pre-existing medical conditions were hit harder. We must address the wider determinants of our health; ensuring that our homes are built with our health in mind, regulating industries and products that are causing harm, and creating environments where healthy food, drink, and leisure options are both affordable and accessible to everyone. 

DsPH work with a wide range of partners to promote health and wellbeing, and protect residents from harmful products such as cigarettes, fast food, gambling, and alcohol. Public health teams do this by collaborating with planners, builders, colleagues in transportation, education and trading standards, local businesses, the voluntary and community sector and many more.  

There is great work being done at the local level, however, this needs to be backed nationally and the Government’s new Tobacco and Vapes Bill, and regulations to restrict advertising and sales of unhealthy products, are both positive steps, but we need to introduce a wide range of measures to develop healthier spaces where we can live, work, and relax. 

Making sure that we have the skilled workforce to implement improvements effectively requires proper funding. Funding for public health, and for local government has been cut significantly in real-terms over the past ten years. Without long-term sustainable funding, we can’t provide staff to effectively carry out the range of public health roles or commission the range of services in the voluntary and community sector that we need to deliver an effective response to future pandemics.  

The Association of Directors of Public Health is ready to work with local partners and the Government to improve our ability to respond more effectively to future pandemics both locally and nationally, and with DsPH who would be proactive in unpacking these issues.  

It is important that we do not forget the immense cost of the Covid-19 pandemic and those who lost their lives and those who continue to be affected. We owe it to them to learn the lessons from the past five years, and make sure that we are much better prepared for next time.