South East ADPH Practice Networks

What are public health communities of practice or networks?

Our public health communities of practice (or networks) are collaborative groups sponsored by the ADPH and supported by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID). They are designed to connect professionals working on different public health priorities.

How do they work?

The South East ADPH network leads eleven communities of practice (or network). The collective goal is to create forums for strategic leadership, shared learning, and collaborative action to improve health outcomes and reduce inequalities. Each network is sponsored by a Director of Public Health (DPH). The networks are supported and coordinated by OHID’s public health consultants and health improvement leads. Every network focuses on a specific area of public health, enabling network members to exchange insights, align strategies, and influence policy at local, regional, and national levels.

What do they do?

The objectives of each network are to:

Improve knowledge sharing: Facilitate exchange of best practices, evidence-based interventions, and innovations.
Build capacity: Support local authorities, NHS teams, and partners in implementing national health improvement priorities.
Increase collaboration: Create strong links between national, regional, and local public health systems.
Influence policy and delivery: Provide feedback and insights to shape DHSC and other government department strategies and programmes.

What do they provide?

Outputs from networks vary but can include:

Producing guidance, toolkits and practical resources for implementing health improvement initiatives and programmes.
Promoting learning and knowledge sharing through webinars and workshops.
Publishing reports and action plans, provide summaries of evidence, recommendations, and progress updates.
Providing peer support, a forum for troubleshooting and collaborative problem-solving.

Who are they for?

Membership is open to those involved in relevant programmes or based on expertise. Networks typically include public health professionals from local authorities and the NHS, regional OHID representatives, and subject matter experts on areas such as tobacco control, obesity, or public mental health. Occasionally, partners from academia, providers and the voluntary sector, are invited to join.

You can find out more about each of the ADPH South East communities of practice (or networks), including their specific aims, objectives and leadership, by clicking on relevant link below.

Contact details for network leads are listed under each network or you can contact the business support team at ohidsebst@dhsc.gov.uk

Our Networks

South East Children, Young People and Families Network

DPH sponsor: Simon Bryant, DPH Hampshire 

For queries please contact OHID lead: Charlie Satow charlie.satow@dhsc.gov.uk or ohidsebst@dhsc.gov.uk

Purpose

The network will enable the sharing of local delivery and strategic insight to support the development of children, young people, and family’s public health services for the South East region.

Aims

The aims of the network are:

To provide a confidential and supportive environment to inform and share current proposals for the development of children and young peoples’ public health services from preconception -24 years.
To enable the identification and sharing of outcomes used to monitor and evaluate service provision and support improvements in local strategic planning and commissioning.
To provide opportunities to share and discuss local commissioning that supports the alignment of commissioning intentions, cycles, and proposed changes between neighbouring authorities.
To provide national and regional update across the system from OHID that;
share national resources and updates, provide opportunities to explore what this means for local public health and system partners
promote and build the evidence base for local implementation
draw in relevant expertise to support the wider system to develop and establish
To provide OHID with enhanced insight and improved understanding the needs of Children, Young People and Families across the South East
To identify and contribute to shared priorities that inform regional and collaborative action.
To provide opportunity for peer-to-peer learning and ongoing professional development.

South East Drug and Alcohol Network (SEDAN)

DPH sponsor: Nicola Lang, Interim DPH Brighton and Hove

For queries please contact OHID lead: Tracey Goodhew Tracey.Goodhew@dhsc.gov.uk or ohidsebst@dhsc.gov.uk

Purpose

The South East Drug and Alcohol Network (SEDAN) provides strategic leadership and support to local systems in the commissioning, development and delivery of evidence-based alcohol and drug prevention; harm reduction, and treatment programmes to improve health outcomes and reduce health inequalities in the South East.

Aims

The aims of the network are:
To provide a forum to enable the coordination of activities that reduce duplication of effort and increase the impact on health outcomes and inequalities – for example through aligning national and local activities.
To identify and share evidence-based practice and learning across the network and with others nationally, to inform and influence national/local policy, support commissioning and delivery to promote quality and consistency.
To provide a source of advice and information for Local Authorities, OHID, NHS England and the third sector

South East Healthy Communities Network

DPH sponsor: Tessa Lindfield, DPH Slough

For queries please contact OHID lead: Nicky Saynor Nicky.Saynor@dhsc.gov.uk or ohidsebst@dhsc.gov.uk

Purpose

The Healthy communities network provides a forum which enables strategic direction, and promotes shared learning, peer support and collaboration in the development and scaling up of community-centred &/or asset-based approaches to health and wellbeing, with the aim of improving population health outcomes and reducing health inequalities.

Aims

The aims of the network are:

To inform and support the embedding and scaling up of community-centred and asset-based approaches to public health across the South East in line with key policy directives
To understand the priorities and needs of local systems, using this to shape regional network activity and to influence upwards to help ensure national activities are informed by and in line with local system needs
To create space through which to develop and agree common narratives and/or data to support ongoing investment in community-centred and asset-based approaches
To promote whole systems approaches to community-centred public health
To serve as a forum to align priorities, share approaches, learning and promote networking and collaboration
To identify and promote synergies with other related forums, networks and programmes of work, including personalised care, patient voice, health inequalities
To share best practice and help address complex issues

South East Healthy Weight and Physical Activity Network

DPH sponsor: Currently vacant.

For queries please contact OHID lead: Victoria Heald Victoria.Heald@dhsc.gov.uk and Kate King Kate.King@dhsc.gov.uk or ohidsebst@dhsc.gov.uk

Purpose

The purpose of the South East Healthy Weight and Physical Activity Network is to optimise healthy weight, healthy eating and physical activity for everyone living and working across the South East, creating the greatest health gains for the least healthy people and communities.

Aims

The aims of the network are:

To share national policy and insight, emerging research and examples of best practice in a timely way
To share practical experience, insight and evaluation evidence from projects across the South East and from other national and international programmes
To offer reasonable specialist advice and support to local networks and programmes (e.g. local Sugar Smart)
To coproduce and deliver learning opportunities, to multiple local authorities and their partners, which support locally identified whole systems approaches to tackling poor diet, obesity and/or physical inactivity
To support network members to demonstrate effective delivery against national and local strategies for tackling obesity and physical inactivity and to share their work nationally and locally

Subgroups:

South East Food Systems and Healthy Weight
South East Active Travel
South East Physical Activity and Health
South East Early Years, Children and Young People Healthy Weight
South East Adult Weight Management Services

South East Homelessness and Inclusion Health Network

DPH sponsor: Emma Seria-Walker, Assistant DPH Portsmouth

For queries please contact OHID lead: Karen Simmonds Karen.Simmonds@dhsc.gov.uk or ohidsebst@dhsc.gov.uk

Purpose

The Network provides an information sharing and policy discussion forum, at a regional geography, for those:

a) working directly with inclusion health groups, or
b) planning and commissioning health, social and care services for these groups, or
c) developing or influencing policy to reduce health disparities and improve access to service provision for inclusion health groups.

Aims

The aims of the network are:

To improve health outcomes among people who are socially excluded, who typically experience multiple overlapping risk factors for poor health and are often not accounted for in data or record keeping. This includes, but is not limited to, people who experience homelessness, vulnerable migrants, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, sex workers, people in contact with the justice system, those with drug and alcohol dependence and victims of modern slavery.

For the purposes of this group ‘South East’ means the geography that is covered by the six Integrated Care Boards (ICB):

Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West
Frimley Health and Care
Kent and Medway
Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Surrey Heartlands
Sussex Health and Care

The Network seeks to align with the NHSE Inclusion Health Focus Meetings (quarterly), organised by NHS England South East Prevention and Health Inequalities Programme. This is to allow continued discussion of the topics and action by ICB leads for inclusion health, with the aim of supporting improvements in access, experience, and outcomes of healthcare for groups.

South East NHS Health Check Network

DPH sponsor: David Whiting, DPH Medway

For queries please contact: OHID lead: Nicky Saynor Nicky.Saynor@dhsc.gov.uk or ohidsebst@dhsc.gov.uk

Purpose

The South East NHS Health Check Network provides provide a forum through which to promote collaboration and mutual support for those working on the NHS Health Checks programme & wider place-based CVD prevention across the South East, with a view to maximising programme impact on CVD health outcomes and CVD-related health inequalities and positioning the programme as a key enabler of cardiovascular disease prevention

Aims

The aims of the network are:

Provide a forum:

to enable collaboration and coordination of activities, to reduce duplication of effort, achieve economies of scale and increase impact on health outcomes and inequalities.
to identify, explore and articulate the strategic fit between the NHS Health Check programme and wider system transformation and priorities.
A safe place and space for reflection on complex and sensitive issues, openly and honestly.

To act as a 2-way mechanism for influence between local, centre, regional and national NHS Health Check and CVD prevention stakeholders and other relevant teams, agencies and forums, including:

SE CVD Prevention Strategic Group & wider associated SE CVD prevention distribution list members.
The SE CVD Prevention Working Group
KSS, Wessex & Oxford Health Innovation Networks
Region, system and place CVD prevention infrastructure
NHS Health Checks Centre & Regions Forum
NHS Health Check Local Implementer National Forum (LINF)
SE Regional Public Health Group
Office for Health Improvement & Disparities National Personalised Prevention Team
Other relevant agencies/forums as appropriate

The network also works to:

shape and drive action undertaken by South East NHS Health Check responsible lead.
provide a source of advice on and promote quality and sustainable improvements in the programme, so as to contribute to a measurable reduction in health inequalities and incidence of vascular disease.
provide advice, support and strategic leadership to support members with embedding the programme within the wider context of CVD prevention across local systems.
provide local authority NHS Health Checks public health leads (hereafter ‘leads’) in the South East with strategic leadership and support in the ongoing development of equitable and high quality NHS Health Check programmes for local populations.

and to identify and share evidence-based practice, innovation and learning to:

inform and influence national/local policy
support commissioning and delivery
promote reduction in health inequalities, service consistency and sustainability.

Provide a source of advice and information for Local Authorities, the NHS, OHID and the third sector, linking with relevant groups, boards and departments and support leads in translating national policy and guidance to local practice.

South East Public Health Intelligence Group

DPH sponsor: Currently vacant.

For queries please contact the South East LKIS Team: LKISSouthEast@dhsc.gov.uk

Purpose

The South East Public Health Intelligence Group (SEPHIG) is a network facilitated by the OHID Local Knowledge and Intelligence Service (LKIS) for people in the South East of England interested in public health and population health intelligence.

Aims

The aims of the network are:

Provide a forum for national and local information exchange and networking
Share and disseminate knowledge, intelligence, methods, skills and experience
Share local work, including work in development, to facilitate learning across teams
Deliver updates on important national OHID tools and products
Share feedback on OHID’s regional work and national products to drive improvement
Contribute to continuing professional development

SE Public Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Network

DPH sponsor: Darrell Gale, DPH East Sussex

For queries please contact OHID lead: Karen Simmonds Karen.Simmonds@dhsc.gov.uk or ohidsebst@dhsc.gov.uk

Purpose

The Public Mental Health and Suicide Prevention network provides a regional forum to promote shared learning, peer support and collaboration for the public health workforce involved in improving and protecting mental health and preventing suicide.

Aims

Terms of Reference are currently under review.
The Forum meets every 6 weeks, with a closed Real Time Suicide Surveillance Drop in every other month for suicide prevention leads.

South East Sexual Health Network

DPH sponsor: Sara Blackmore, DPH Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead

For queries please contact UKHSA Lead: Kate Donohoe Kate.Donohoe@ukhsa.gov.uk or ohidsebst@dhsc.gov.uk

Aims & Purpose

To improve sexual health outcomes by supporting local government commissioners in discharging their mandate to commission comprehensive, open-access sexual health services for their populations
To reflect the shared commissioning and public health support needs of local authorities and in so doing, develop a South East-wide sexual health work programme
To share best practice, information sharing and benchmarking
To agree new ways of working together ensuring a consistent regional approach where possible (e.g. SE cross charging policy)

South East Tobacco Control Network

DPH sponsor: Helen Atkinson, DPH Portsmouth

For queries please contact OHID lead: Jason Mahoney Jason.Mahoney@dhsc.gov.uk or ohidsebst@dhsc.gov.uk

Purpose

Members of the Tobacco Control Network are working together in places, systems and the region to achieve a Smokefree 2030.

The network provides strategic leadership and support for action on tobacco control and smoking cessation. It adds value to efforts to prevent smoking, improve health outcomes and reduce health inequalities. The network does this through effective communications between network members, enabling coordination and facilitating collaboration.

Aims

Network members work together to achieve the network’s purpose by:

coordinating activities
reducing duplication of effort
identifying and sharing evidence-based practice and learning
informing and influencing national and local policy
supporting commissioning and delivery and promoting quality and consistency
providing a source of advice and information for local authorities, the NHS, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) and voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations
identifying and implementing collaborative initiatives that will increase impact and reduce cost – for example, marketing campaigns and work on illicit tobacco

These objectives are delivered through communications between network members and the meetings, events and groups that network members establish.

South East Work and Health Community of Practice

DPH sponsor: David Munday, DPH Buckinghamshire

For queries please contact: OHID lead: Victoria Heald Victoria.Heald@dhsc.gov.uk or ohidsebst@dhsc.gov.uk

Purpose

The community of practice is a group to have open and transparent discussions about work and health across the South East. The group will use evidence and data to inform and improve practice, share achievements and impact, identify actions and areas to influence, have thematic discussions and build solutions to issues. It will promote cooperation and share ideas across the region and provide an opportunity to engage with regional leads from Central Government and NHS Departments leading on the work and health agenda. It will identify linkages and opportunities to work collaboratively on joint/cross cutting projects and matters of interest.

Aims

The aim of the network is to create a community of practice to facilitate collaboration and impact to ensure that people take-up, remain and progress in good work and fair employment across the South East.