Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of tables and figures
- Acknowledgements
- About the authors
- Foreword
- One Introduction and methods
- Two Developing the specialty of public health, 1972–90
- Three The multidisciplinary public health movement of the 1990s
- Four Changes for specialists I: Setting up a multidisciplinary public health senior appointments process
- Five Changes for specialists II: The new regulatory system for specialists
- Six Changes for specialists III: The establishment of multidisciplinary higher specialist training in public health
- Seven The focus on practitioners and the wider workforce
- Eight Where we are now? The new public health system in England from April 2013
- Nine Experience across the other UK countries
- Ten Conclusion
- References
- Appendix 1 Timeline
- Appendix 2 Glossary of terms
- Index
Ten - Conclusion
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 February 2022
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of tables and figures
- Acknowledgements
- About the authors
- Foreword
- One Introduction and methods
- Two Developing the specialty of public health, 1972–90
- Three The multidisciplinary public health movement of the 1990s
- Four Changes for specialists I: Setting up a multidisciplinary public health senior appointments process
- Five Changes for specialists II: The new regulatory system for specialists
- Six Changes for specialists III: The establishment of multidisciplinary higher specialist training in public health
- Seven The focus on practitioners and the wider workforce
- Eight Where we are now? The new public health system in England from April 2013
- Nine Experience across the other UK countries
- Ten Conclusion
- References
- Appendix 1 Timeline
- Appendix 2 Glossary of terms
- Index
Summary
Introduction
Internationally, the model for the public health workforce developed in England since the late 1990s (and adopted wholly or partially by the rest of the UK countries) is unusual, both in categorising the workforce (into specialists, practitioners and the wider workforce) and in taking a holistic approach through shared (non-clinical) competency across medical and non-medically qualified public health professionals.
The approach was introduced in a piecemeal fashion rather than being undertaken strategically across the whole of the workforce from the outset. Change focused initially on specialists, moving onto consideration of practitioners and then the so-called ‘wider workforce’. It is only latterly that policymakers are beginning to look at the requirements, and the need, for development and underpinning competency and regulatory professional structures and frameworks for the whole of the public health workforce.
There has been more or less agreement across the whole of the UK on what is needed, at a population level, to deliver health gains and respond to health challenges. This is a competent (professional) workforce at specialist and practitioner levels, using a combination of public health technical knowledge plus skills in communication, leadership, project management and partnership-working, complemented by a ‘wider workforce’ geared to promote lifestyle behaviour change at an individual level, and also to influence broader aspects of public policy that impact upon health.
This final chapter:
• summarises what has been achieved – as well as what has not been achieved – since the 1990s to develop the public health workforce in England;
• sets the changes in an overall context by explaining why and how they happened;
• provides commentary from a range of public health professionals involved in the changes on the impact on health from the English model; and
• concludes with a reflection on the potential next stages for public health development.
What has been achieved since the 1990s to develop the public health workforce and what has been its impact on health?
According to one former President of the Faculty of Public Health (FPH):
we achieved what we set out to do – get formal recognition of multidisciplinary public health professionals as well as providing public protection…. I think it is very sustainable now – I don't think we will see a rolling back…. Has the debate now shifted to practitioners now that specialists have been more or less ‘sorted’?
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Multidisciplinary Public HealthUnderstanding the Development of the Modern Workforce, pp. 163 - 178Publisher: Bristol University PressPrint publication year: 2014