Letter from the Chair - Sandra Grieve

Published: 01 February 2012

The Public Health Forum (PHF) was active in 2011 and as we are now well into 2012, we can reflect on the forum’s achievements over the last year.

I hope members are accessing the forum’s web pages and taking advantage of the information and resources available there. The Department of Health (DH) continues to publish public health-related documents and you can find links to those and to the RCN’s position in the PHF online community. Thanks to Beverley for keeping the website updated.

The NHS Future Forum led by Professor Steve Field and his team produced its second set of reports, subsequently accepted by the Government, and called on health care professionals to lead the way on patient-centred care.

The NHS and the Local Government Association has just published a planning guide to support local authorities and primary care trusts in developing plans for transforming the local public health system.

During the year-long transition decisions will be made on how the transfer of accountability from NHS to local government will be achieved, so there is still a lot to be done.

Professor Vivien Bennett, previously the Deputy Chief Nursing Officer in England, was appointed as Director of Nursing in the DH and the Government’s Principal Adviser on Public Health Nursing.

Please support our conference

The PHF conference is taking place in London on Friday 17 February. It has been a mammoth task and RCN Events has been working hard with the public health team, particularly Emily Pollinger, Assistant Public Health Adviser, to produce an exciting programme with high profile keynote speakers. Public health crosses many disciplines and we hope that most of them have been captured in the programme, so please support this event, as it will be a great day.

The second project was to develop a publication showcasing nursing’s contribution to public health. This was also a major task but we were heartened by the response from members. Thanks go to the project team, Jan Maw and Emily Pollinger, and project lead Professor Ami David.

The publication will be launched at the PHF conference.
Noting the continuous changes within the public health arena, 2012 will be equally busy and exciting. The PHF will be represented at RCN Congress in Harrogate, and we remain committed to raising the profile and highlighting the importance of public health nursing in all its forms.

As always these things are only achieved through teamwork. My personal thanks go Jan and Emily and our membership co-ordinator, Nikki Mills, who have been a great support to me and my fellow steering group members.

In March the forum committee will meet to discuss projects for 2012-13. There is much to be done and we will endeavour to keep public health on the agenda for the coming year. Meanwhile, the forum’s online community and e-newsletter will keep you updated with what’s happening in our field and contact details are there if we can help.

Sandra