Conference Report
RSPH Annual Conference and Awards Ceremony: Diversity and Change – Better Health in the United Kingdom On 12 September, the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) held its annual conference and awards ceremony at Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), London, kindly sponsored again this year by Elsevier. Dr Fiona Sim, Chair of RSPH, opened the conference by welcoming all present, extending a particular welcome to guests who had travelled from afar, including India, Nigeria and New Zealand. Duncan Selbie, Chief Executive of Public Health England, was then welcomed to the stage as the first guest speaker of the afternoon. Duncan led us through some of the key priorities of Public Health England, setting the scene by putting some of the current challenges faced by health care into context. Children were dying from the consequences of diseases 50 years ago, whereas now, 50 years on, we are burdened by dealing with the consequences of living. Drawing reference to Sir Michael Marmot and the importance of early-life interventions, Duncan made it clear that we can’t address health gaps just by carrying on working the way we have been, emphasising the need for change. The current times of restructuring offer a great impetus for this change, with new systems in place recognising that good health is not just health care, no longer just the absence of disease. At a time when health inequalities are wider than ever, newly formed clinical commissioning groups and health and well-being boards have high responsibilities and duty in reducing these inequalities. Duncan concluded by giving us insight into the three main activities and responsibilities Public Health England will be undertaking in the coming year. Namely, to oversee and facilitate work undertaken by the aforementioned groups in reducing inequalities in communities; to publish everything, including all statistics and research to develop and strengthen the public health knowledge bank; and to influence national government policy, acting as the voice for the health needs of the public. He imparted a message that was later reiterated by all key speakers: the importance of focussing change and intervention on local level. John Wyn-Owen, Vice Chair of the UK Health Forum, was welcomed next to present the 2013 Arts and Health Awards, and all award winners were thanked for their contribution and continued hard work in developing the relationship between health and the arts. Following the presentation of the awards, Bob Hudson, Chief Executive of Public Health Wales, spoke about the challenges in the public health system in Wales and some of the ways forward in improving the public’s health. Bob introduced his talk by identifying some of the public health challenges that have been faced in Wales in recent times, including the 75,000 unscheduled measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccinations called upon at short notice following the recent measles outbreak in south Wales. More generally, he spoke of how health challenges in Wales are complex, stemming from many factors, including mixed
patterns of need and inequalities, low resilience and inappropriate admissions to hospitals to name a few areas. These challenges provide the backdrop to the Public Health Wales strategy: to lead, mobilise and deliver. Bob highlighted the key priorities in Wales for the coming year, including the need for greater focus on outcomes, greater collaboration, developed leadership and better performance management. He also introduced the new Health Improvement Review in Wales, which is aiming to work with communities and on inequalities, increasing the role of education in the Welsh public health system. Fiona then introduced the next part of the afternoon, where we congratulated some of the high achievers in our qualifications. In 2012, 60,000 people received an RSPH qualification, and in particular, we trained over 28,000 people in our Level 2 Understanding Health Improvement qualification, playing our part in educating the nation. Before inviting Shirley Cramer CBE, newly appointed Chief Executive of RSPH to the stage to present the awards, Fiona issued a thank you on behalf of the RSPH council to all of the staff for keeping true to their hard work ethic despite the internal RSPH changes and the challenging year the organisation has faced in staying ahead of the continuing health structure reforms. Following these presentations, Lord Hunt, President of RSPH, took to the stage to celebrate the coming together of the RSPH and the Institute of Healthcare Management (IHM), highlighting the benefits to all of 3,500 IHM members joining us, particularly noting the opportunity we now have to better align managerial leadership in health care with public health. His talk was a tribute and thanks to Professor Richard Parish, past Chief Executive of RSPH, to whom he presented RSPH Honorary Fellowship for 2013. Lord Hunt thanked Richard for his work as a champion for both RSPH and wider public health, expanding the credibility of the RSPH and its international influence. On receiving his fellowship, Richard extended his thanks to all in the room, in particular staff, friends and family.
288 Perspectives in Public Health l November 2012 Vol 133 No 6 Downloaded from rsh.sagepub.com at WESTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY on June 2, 2015
Conference Report
After presentation of the Public Health journal award, in recognition of the continued RSPH commitment to publication of public health research, by Peter Harrison PhD, Vice President of Elsevier, Shirley Cramer CBE took to the stage for the final talk. Shirley began by introducing herself, describing how her background as a social worker gave her an insight into many problems in disadvantaged communities, and taught her the importance of early intervention, an understanding that carries through to her new role at RSPH. Through initial observations of the RSPH and our various projects, Shirley voiced a clear message of the RSPH strategy, demonstrating our close links to the challenges and obligations of the wider public health agenda. She spoke of the uniqueness of the RSPH voice, particularly in the strengths and expertise of our members, how we can learn from each other and how this influential voice is to be furthered in the coming year through the development of more special interest groups. In terms of practice, she spoke of the importance of understanding and building on our place in improving the public’s health. The promotion of social justice, a public health obligation, is at the heart of the RSPH agenda, targeting health inequalities in communities and encouraging them to make the most of their well-being. Applying the best knowledge to the whole population is another central RSPH theme, and we do this through our valuable partnerships, recognising that public health is a shared responsibility. And finally our vision, encapsulated by the energy of our RSPH staff, coupled with our innovative ideas, emulating our hero Dr John Snow. This strategic vision for the RSPH builds on our achievements throughout the past year, which are more clearly highlighted in our recently published Review 2012, showing where we are and where we are going in more detail. Shirley closed the conference by congratulating all of our award winners, and by extending thanks to Dr Fiona Sim, to President Lord Hunt and the Trustees for their work and support, to the staff for their generosity and to everyone in the wider RSPH-IHM family, looking forward to the opportunities we have to work together in the coming year.
Award Winners 2013 We would like to congratulate all of our award winners:
Qualifications Level 4 Award in Food Safety Management for Manufacturing – Dominique Lenton, trained by LJ Hygiene Training Services Level 4 Award in Managing Food Safety in Catering – Paul Hawkins, trained by Food Alert Level 4 Award in Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Management for Food Manufacturing – Victoria MacPherson, trained by Food Quality Services Certificate in Anatomical Pathology Technology – Mohammad Radiom, trained by Professor Marie T Cassidy
Diploma in Anatomical Pathology Technology (outstanding written mark) – Amy Clarke, trained by Hull and East Yorkshire National Health Service (NHS) Trust Diploma in Anatomical Pathology Technology (outstanding oral mark) – Harriet Tunstall, trained by University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust Level 2 Award in Pest Management – Kelvin Towner, trained by British Pest Control Association (BPCA)
Public Health Award Most downloaded paper in 2012 – Sarah MacKay, Obesity Policy Coalition at Cancer Council Victoria, Australia, titled ‘Legislative solutions to unhealthy eating and obesity in Australia’
RSPH Honorary Fellowship We were also delighted to present Professor Richard Parish, past Chief Executive, RSPH, with Honorary Fellowship.
Arts and Health Awards The Practice Awards: the organisations honoured all have fine records in supporting programmes of creative arts work with people in the criminal justice system through all of the major art forms – music, dance, theatre, creative writing and visual arts: The Koestler Trust Irene Taylor Trust Dance United Geese Theatre Company The Research Awards: in addition to honouring practical arts initiatives in criminal justice settings, the RSPH is pleased to recognise significant achievements in research and knowledge exchange in this field. Two awards are given this year: Musical Pathways Arts Alliance Evidence Library
November 2013 Vol 133 No 6 l Perspectives in Public Health 289 Downloaded from rsh.sagepub.com at WESTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY on June 2, 2015
RSPH Annual Conference and Awards Ceremony: Diversity and Change – Better Health in the United Kingdom On 12 September, the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) held its annual conference and awards ceremony at Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), London, kindly sponsored again this year by Elsevier. Dr Fiona Sim, Chair of RSPH, opened the conference by welcoming all present, extending a particular welcome to guests who had travelled from afar, including India, Nigeria and New Zealand. Duncan Selbie, Chief Executive of Public Health England, was then welcomed to the stage as the first guest speaker of the afternoon. Duncan led us through some of the key priorities of Public Health England, setting the scene by putting some of the current challenges faced by health care into context. Children were dying from the consequences of diseases 50 years ago, whereas now, 50 years on, we are burdened by dealing with the consequences of living. Drawing reference to Sir Michael Marmot and the importance of early-life interventions, Duncan made it clear that we can’t address health gaps just by carrying on working the way we have been, emphasising the need for change. The current times of restructuring offer a great impetus for this change, with new systems in place recognising that good health is not just health care, no longer just the absence of disease. At a time when health inequalities are wider than ever, newly formed clinical commissioning groups and health and well-being boards have high responsibilities and duty in reducing these inequalities. Duncan concluded by giving us insight into the three main activities and responsibilities Public Health England will be undertaking in the coming year. Namely, to oversee and facilitate work undertaken by the aforementioned groups in reducing inequalities in communities; to publish everything, including all statistics and research to develop and strengthen the public health knowledge bank; and to influence national government policy, acting as the voice for the health needs of the public. He imparted a message that was later reiterated by all key speakers: the importance of focussing change and intervention on local level. John Wyn-Owen, Vice Chair of the UK Health Forum, was welcomed next to present the 2013 Arts and Health Awards, and all award winners were thanked for their contribution and continued hard work in developing the relationship between health and the arts. Following the presentation of the awards, Bob Hudson, Chief Executive of Public Health Wales, spoke about the challenges in the public health system in Wales and some of the ways forward in improving the public’s health. Bob introduced his talk by identifying some of the public health challenges that have been faced in Wales in recent times, including the 75,000 unscheduled measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccinations called upon at short notice following the recent measles outbreak in south Wales. More generally, he spoke of how health challenges in Wales are complex, stemming from many factors, including mixed
patterns of need and inequalities, low resilience and inappropriate admissions to hospitals to name a few areas. These challenges provide the backdrop to the Public Health Wales strategy: to lead, mobilise and deliver. Bob highlighted the key priorities in Wales for the coming year, including the need for greater focus on outcomes, greater collaboration, developed leadership and better performance management. He also introduced the new Health Improvement Review in Wales, which is aiming to work with communities and on inequalities, increasing the role of education in the Welsh public health system. Fiona then introduced the next part of the afternoon, where we congratulated some of the high achievers in our qualifications. In 2012, 60,000 people received an RSPH qualification, and in particular, we trained over 28,000 people in our Level 2 Understanding Health Improvement qualification, playing our part in educating the nation. Before inviting Shirley Cramer CBE, newly appointed Chief Executive of RSPH to the stage to present the awards, Fiona issued a thank you on behalf of the RSPH council to all of the staff for keeping true to their hard work ethic despite the internal RSPH changes and the challenging year the organisation has faced in staying ahead of the continuing health structure reforms. Following these presentations, Lord Hunt, President of RSPH, took to the stage to celebrate the coming together of the RSPH and the Institute of Healthcare Management (IHM), highlighting the benefits to all of 3,500 IHM members joining us, particularly noting the opportunity we now have to better align managerial leadership in health care with public health. His talk was a tribute and thanks to Professor Richard Parish, past Chief Executive of RSPH, to whom he presented RSPH Honorary Fellowship for 2013. Lord Hunt thanked Richard for his work as a champion for both RSPH and wider public health, expanding the credibility of the RSPH and its international influence. On receiving his fellowship, Richard extended his thanks to all in the room, in particular staff, friends and family.
288 Perspectives in Public Health l November 2012 Vol 133 No 6 Downloaded from rsh.sagepub.com at WESTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY on June 2, 2015
Conference Report
After presentation of the Public Health journal award, in recognition of the continued RSPH commitment to publication of public health research, by Peter Harrison PhD, Vice President of Elsevier, Shirley Cramer CBE took to the stage for the final talk. Shirley began by introducing herself, describing how her background as a social worker gave her an insight into many problems in disadvantaged communities, and taught her the importance of early intervention, an understanding that carries through to her new role at RSPH. Through initial observations of the RSPH and our various projects, Shirley voiced a clear message of the RSPH strategy, demonstrating our close links to the challenges and obligations of the wider public health agenda. She spoke of the uniqueness of the RSPH voice, particularly in the strengths and expertise of our members, how we can learn from each other and how this influential voice is to be furthered in the coming year through the development of more special interest groups. In terms of practice, she spoke of the importance of understanding and building on our place in improving the public’s health. The promotion of social justice, a public health obligation, is at the heart of the RSPH agenda, targeting health inequalities in communities and encouraging them to make the most of their well-being. Applying the best knowledge to the whole population is another central RSPH theme, and we do this through our valuable partnerships, recognising that public health is a shared responsibility. And finally our vision, encapsulated by the energy of our RSPH staff, coupled with our innovative ideas, emulating our hero Dr John Snow. This strategic vision for the RSPH builds on our achievements throughout the past year, which are more clearly highlighted in our recently published Review 2012, showing where we are and where we are going in more detail. Shirley closed the conference by congratulating all of our award winners, and by extending thanks to Dr Fiona Sim, to President Lord Hunt and the Trustees for their work and support, to the staff for their generosity and to everyone in the wider RSPH-IHM family, looking forward to the opportunities we have to work together in the coming year.
Award Winners 2013 We would like to congratulate all of our award winners:
Qualifications Level 4 Award in Food Safety Management for Manufacturing – Dominique Lenton, trained by LJ Hygiene Training Services Level 4 Award in Managing Food Safety in Catering – Paul Hawkins, trained by Food Alert Level 4 Award in Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Management for Food Manufacturing – Victoria MacPherson, trained by Food Quality Services Certificate in Anatomical Pathology Technology – Mohammad Radiom, trained by Professor Marie T Cassidy
Diploma in Anatomical Pathology Technology (outstanding written mark) – Amy Clarke, trained by Hull and East Yorkshire National Health Service (NHS) Trust Diploma in Anatomical Pathology Technology (outstanding oral mark) – Harriet Tunstall, trained by University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust Level 2 Award in Pest Management – Kelvin Towner, trained by British Pest Control Association (BPCA)
Public Health Award Most downloaded paper in 2012 – Sarah MacKay, Obesity Policy Coalition at Cancer Council Victoria, Australia, titled ‘Legislative solutions to unhealthy eating and obesity in Australia’
RSPH Honorary Fellowship We were also delighted to present Professor Richard Parish, past Chief Executive, RSPH, with Honorary Fellowship.
Arts and Health Awards The Practice Awards: the organisations honoured all have fine records in supporting programmes of creative arts work with people in the criminal justice system through all of the major art forms – music, dance, theatre, creative writing and visual arts: The Koestler Trust Irene Taylor Trust Dance United Geese Theatre Company The Research Awards: in addition to honouring practical arts initiatives in criminal justice settings, the RSPH is pleased to recognise significant achievements in research and knowledge exchange in this field. Two awards are given this year: Musical Pathways Arts Alliance Evidence Library
November 2013 Vol 133 No 6 l Perspectives in Public Health 289 Downloaded from rsh.sagepub.com at WESTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY on June 2, 2015
