Reforms to public health 'tried and tested'

The government's new public health system came under scrutiny yesterday.

Continuing their inquiry into the government's reforms to public health, members of the health select committee grilled officials from the Department of Health charged with implementing the reforms.

Following questioning from committee chairman Stephen Dorrell, newly appointed chief medical officer, Sally Davies highlighted the importance of her position as holding a monitoring capacity.

She said that she plans to place a focus on infection prevention and will publish a specific study of this in the annual report.

Labour MP Valerie Vaz asked Davies if she sees public health in England as part of the NHS. Davies replied that public health is separate, but still works closely with the NHS.

"We are trying to give a much bigger emphasis to public health and prevention than ever before," she said. The public health system is expected to be fully functional by 2013.

Davies defended the new system: "I think we will end up with a better system. I'm making sure that we are designing a system that I think will work better."

Davies told the committee about her personal experience of catching the flu this past winter, and said that the system did a good job administering care, but she believes it could work better in the future.

Vaz asked how this system will work better.

Transition managing director, Anita Marsland, responded that "progress is variable but we are seeing a real appetite for this transition".

She cited the democratic accountability of local authorities as one of the strengths of the new system.

Rose Cooper MP asked the panel: "If I am a trainee public health doctor, am I going to get a job?"

"We have jobs for most of them, if not all," said Davies.

Cooper voiced concern over this statement and further inquired about potential loss of jobs during the transition period.

Davies said, "As we change the structures of care, people's jobs and opportunities will change. I definitely don't know what that means for jobs."

Cooper described the new public health system as "nebulous" and lacking any "real teeth".

She said that "the morale of people in the NHS is at rock bottom. It is extraordinary that no-one knows what is going on."

Marsland refuted these claims, saying that not all the decisions have been made yet, and that she is "open to advice".

Professor John Newton, chair of the Department of Health working group on information and intelligence for public health, reiterated the amount of time that has been spent designing the new system.

"The system has been tried and tested and has been shown to work very well in emergency," he said.

Newton added: "What has happened to date has been effective; what will happen in the future will be even more effective."