The Directors of Public Health in Cheshire and Merseyside were delighted to welcome England’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, to their regular systems leadership meeting on Friday 25th March.
An epidemiologist and physician by background, Chris is the primary medical advisor to the government and has supported No. 10, the Department of Health and Social Care, the UK Health Security Agency (previously Public Health England) and the Cabinet Office on the country’s national response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He has also been an important and influential communicator of policy and advice to the general public, appearing alongside the Prime Minister and the Chief Scientific Officer, Sir Patrick Vallance, at countless COVID-19 press conferences since the pandemic started in early 2020.
In his role as Chief Medical Officer, Chris also acts as the head of the public health profession for the country and represents the UK on the Executive Board of the World Health Organization.
During the session with Chris, Dr Sarah McNulty, DPH for Knowsley and the current Chair of the Collaborative’s Executive Board, provided an overview of the Collaborative, how it functions and the impact it has made, and Julie Webster, DPH for Wirral and Lead Director for Contact Tracing, updated Chris on the current ambitions for the DHSC-funded health protection pilot the Collaborative is running.
Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England, said:
“It was great to meet with the Cheshire and Merseyside Directors of Public Health and to hear about their collaborative and integrative way of working. I look forward to future discussions on important issues such as research and development and the public health workforce.”
To find out more about Chris, read his bio here: https://www.gov.uk/government/people/christopher-whitty.
