A VIEW FROM NORTHERN IRELAND Mary Black CBE Assistant Director of Public Health & Social Wellbeing Improvement 5 November 2015 ©2009 Public Health Agency

Rationale “ As it continues to drive its public health agenda, the PHA recognises the importance of supporting a public health workforce with excellent Public Health skills….. …. of implementing a coherent, overall strategic approach to develop and maintain generic Public Health skills and knowledge within the PHA workforce.”

Context ©2009 Public Health Agency  Recognised need for professional standards  UKPHR practitioner registration from 2011  Assessment of competence drew mainly on PHSCF  No NI UKPHR practitioner registration scheme  Support from PH Wales for NI pilot, multi- disciplinary, practitioners' portfolio group

Context contd.  Making Life Better: a whole system strategic framework for public health  Review of local government in NI  Review of the UK wide, PH Skills and Knowledge Framework  PHA proposed strategy to assess the core public health skills of PH practitioners and the wider PH workforce and to address core skills gaps ©2009 Public Health Agency

PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTITIONERS MAY COME FROM Nursing Allied Health Professions Voluntary & Community Sector Teaching Medicine Research Dentistry Planning Social Work Youth Work Environmental Health Community Development Psychology

Current Training Opportunities for Public Health Practitioners PgDip/MSc Health Promotion and Public Health at University of Ulster MSc in Public Health, Queens University Belfast Promoting Public Health: Skills, perspectives and practice, Open University (OU K311) PhD Opportunities at University of Ulster HSC Leadership Centre – Management and IT courses Public Health conferences, courses and workshops etc. ©2009 Public Health Agency

PHA Health Improvement Division Training Needs Survey Survey – responses from 30 (73%) of Health Improvement Staff Respondents asked to rate their level of expertise in terms of 14 competences identified in the NHS KSF and the PH Skills and Career Framework, and any other training/development needs Along with a range of issues, CPD and the need to apply a consistent approach across the organisation was identified as important ©2009 Public Health Agency

Current Staff Training & Development Policy Line Management and Annual Appraisal Team Meetings Team Development Directorate and Divisional Away Days Staff Training and Personal Development Plan ©2009 Public Health Agency

Proposed Future Developments PHA contribution to the enhancement of the PHSKF and to the development of the UK Public Health Skills Workforce Strategy Improved clarity & understanding of practitioner and wider PH workforce functions Development and implementation of PHA core PH skills strategy and plan for identifying and addressing any core skills gaps. Developing a structure for registration - UKPHR in Northern Ireland ©2009 Public Health Agency

Proposed Future Developments contd. Dr Lorraine Doherty

‘It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the most responsive to change’. Charles Darwin ©2009 Public Health Agency

THANK YOU ©2009 Public Health Agency