Having a positive impact on public health

It was a privilege to present the ADPH 2024/25 Annual Review at our recent AGM on 16^th May and it’s a good opportunity to reflect on the impact our work has had on our members, the public health system and the nation’s health. It’s been a busy year for ADPH and public health around the UK.

Public health works best when we are sharing and collaborating and ADPH relies on the expertise of its members to represent the collective voice of DsPH. It’s only by harnessing this expertise that we can continue to flourish as an organisation and put ourselves at the heart of the discussions and decisions being made both locally and nationally.

Our members are at the centre of what we do and we pride ourselves on providing support that gives them the opportunity to develop and to learn from others’ experiences. At our new DsPH Workshop in 2024/25 we formed ‘Peer Group ‘24’ where new DsPH could discuss challenges, share news and views, and strengthen connections across the DPH community. We also made sure we used the wealth of experience of established DsPH to share their knowledge. The Peer Group model has gone from strength to strength and is now a permanent addition to our support for members.

As well as working directly to support the professional development of our members, we advise, and represent the views of DsPH on public health policy and, this year, we have continued to work with a range of organisations to advocate for a wide range of issues relevant to public health. We were particularly pleased with the re-introduction of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which is truly historic with its continued progress through the House of Lords bringing us closer to a smoke free generation.

In our 2025 Spending Review submission we called for investment in prevention and public health to help deliver economic growth. The 5.4% increase for 2025/26 was extremely welcome but there is still work to be done. We await the Spending Review on 11^th June with interest and hope it delivers further commitment from the Government.

Meanwhile, we continue to focus on the commercial determinants of health (CDOH), giving infants, children and young people (ICYP) the best start in life, and providing healthy places for people to live in in recognition of the major role they play in preventing illness and giving people happier and healthier lives. Our Special Projects in these areas funded by The Health Foundation, and our role in the  Local Health and Global Profits (LHGP) consortium funded by UKRI, have put us at the centre of helping to make real change at a local level.

We recently hosted a webinar with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) exploring revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), with over 100 people attending. As a result of the workshop we are working with Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and partners on LHGP to develop consistent definitions for terms used in the NPPF, and scoping areas of legal support for public health teams in areas related to the NPPF.

Taking forward the public health agenda and strengthening the public health system is a major area of work. Practice improvement is where we make this happen and we provide support through sharing good practice across our regional networks and by hosting webinars for DsPH to share practice and learning on a range of topics, including work and health. We also bring together sexual health and substance use commissioners in our Commissioners’ Groups to share practice and discuss key issues.

Communicating our position on major issues affecting public health is vital and we do this by engaging with local and national media and over the past year we have also steadily increased our profile on social media, particularly LinkedIn and we will continue to develop this in the coming year.

We are also looking to take our messages to a wider audience, including the public: Who are DsPH and what do they do? With this in mind, we launched a series of podcasts last July in association with Panoramic Associates, featuring DsPH from across the UK sharing stories and reflections about the role of a DPH. We hope that as well as increasing understanding about the DPH role, they will help inspire future DsPH to develop their career. So far, the podcasts have proved popular with both existing and aspiring DsPH and we look forward to the next series later this year.

It’s an honour to lead ADPH and a privilege to fly the flag alongside such experienced and knowledgeable colleagues. I look forward to continuing to represent DsPH in our work to strengthen the DPH role and public health system alongside our partners, to support public health at a local level and ultimately, improve the nation’s health.