Public Health England

Establishment and Leadership of Public Health England

• Proposals for reorganizing the National Health Service were published in a white paper titled 'Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS' in July 2010.
• A more detailed paper titled 'Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Our strategy for public health in England' was published in November.
• The Health and Social Care Act, which established Public Health England, gained royal assent in March 2012.
• Public Health England took over public health activity from the Department of Health and Social Care and other health bodies.
• Public Health England was accountable to the Secretary of State for Health.
• Public Health England (PHE) was established as an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care.
• PHE was led by various individuals, including Duncan Selbie, Dido Harding, and Paul Cosford.
• Dido Harding was chosen to lead the replacement agency for PHE.
• The appointments of Dido Harding and Mike Coupe were ruled as unlawful by the High Court.
• PHE had a leadership chart outlining key personnel in the organization.

Changes and Transformation of the Public Health System

• The Department of Health and Social Care announced the transformation of the public health system.
• A new health agency focusing on Covid-19 and future pandemics was announced by Matt Hancock.
• The new agency, called the UK Health Security Agency, aims to lead the response to future health threats.
• The government planned to seize control of policy from PHE.
• The changes were intended to tackle inequalities and level up the UK's public health efforts.

Role and Campaigns of Public Health England

• PHE's priorities for 2019/20 included coordination of the response to public health emergencies, such as COVID-19.
• PHE carried out contact tracing in the early stages of the pandemic.
• PHE was responsible for various campaigns, including CRUK Be Clear on Cancer and anti-smoking campaigns.
• The agency had priorities in health and social care for the years 2019 to 2020.
• PHE provided guidance and information about high consequence infectious diseases in England.
• PHE published weekly COVID-19 surveillance reports.
• The agency played a role in recording and reporting COVID-19 deaths in England.

Controversies and Mistakes of Public Health England

• PHE faced criticism and blame for mistakes related to the handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
• There was a delay in reporting COVID-19 cases due to an IT error.
• The use of Microsoft's Excel tool caused the loss of COVID-19 results.
• The accuracy of counting COVID-19 deaths was questioned.
• A data glitch was believed to have led to more than 1,500 COVID-19 deaths being missed.

Impact and Research of Public Health England

• PHE's research on e-cigarettes caused confusion and debate.
• The agency estimated that e-cigarette use is around 95% safer than smoking.
• Some studies and experts questioned the validity of PHE's estimate on the relative harms of e-cigarettes.
• PHE's research on health hazards, such as incinerators, was highlighted in parliamentary questions.
• PHE's work aimed to address health inequalities and improve public health outcomes.

Public Health England Mentions

Public Health England Data Sources