Consultants in Public Health

Susan joined the team in July 2021. She is a Consultant in Public Health and Consultant lead for Health Intelligence and Children and Young People. Her previous experience as a junior doctor in hospital and as a GP has led to her passion for promoting wellbeing and preventing ill health at the earliest opportunity, from birth and throughout life. She is also passionate about joining up services to support people in the right way when they need it.

(Corporate Manager for Health Improvement). Guy is responsible for helping to ensure that the residents of Cheshire East have long and healthy lives. Guy works with partners (internal and external) to address issues that might be contributing to health inequalities and premature mortality. He is closely involved in the work of the Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership and the integration of health and care in Cheshire East. He also works on sub-regional priorities, for example reducing alcohol related harms and supports the DPH to ensure effective functioning of the Health and Wellbeing Board.

Matthew Atkinson worked in critical care, anaesthetics and acute medicine before joining the Public Health StR training scheme in 2015. He joined Cheshire East for his final placement before becoming a consultant in late 2022. Mat leads on health and care public health and has an interest in health informatics and digital leadership.

Donald has a career spanning more than 20 years of experience in Public Health and wellbeing, including time spent as a nationally qualified Youth & Community Development worker with a strong focus on community health, as a specialist health worker located in an NHS provider, as a Public Health specialist based within a Primary Care Trust and as a Consultant in Public Health.

Donald joined Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Public Health team in 2014 and currently leads on Health Protection / Infection Control, Wider Determinants of Health and elements of Healthcare Public Health including health service quality. He is also portfolio lead for sexual health and substance misuse.

Jo McCullagh joined the Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Public Health Team in July 2024. She has 30 years’ experience in Public Health practice working in health service, local authority, academic and voluntary sector environments, across all domains of Public Health. Her current portfolio areas include Knowledge and Intelligence Tobacco Control, Healthy Weight, Physical Activity, NHS Health Checks, Public Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. She is also leading the commissioning of an integrated wellbeing service and the refresh of the Cheshire West and Chester Place Plan.

Julia is deputy director of public health in Halton Borough Council, with the lead for maternal and child health and is a lead trainer. She is also the Training Programme Director for Cheshire and Merseyside’s public health training programme. Before becoming a public health consultant, Julia worked for the voluntary sector at home and overseas. She has a public health nutrition masters and managed community nutrition and dietetic teams in London and worked as the business manager at London regional public health office. Julia trained in Cheshire and Merseyside and has been working as a public health consultant at Halton Borough council for 11 years.

Fiona Watson joined Halton Borough Council as a consultant in public health in July.  She is the lead for healthcare public health and working age adults.  Fiona is a dentist and trained in dental public health in the West Midlands. She moved to Halton from the national dental public health team in OHID where she was providing support to policy and systems leadership around health improvement and health protection from a dental perspective.  Prior to this, Fiona was a public health consultant at Stoke on Trent Council focused on children and young people, health protection and arts and culture.

Clare joined Halton Brough Council as a Public Health Consultant in August 2025 having trained in Cheshire and Merseyside.

Clare has particular interests in reducing health inequalities, implementing best practice at scale, and children’s and women’s health. She has six years’ experience as a paediatrics doctor and experience in global health in academic and public health contexts.

Her current lead areas include drugs and alcohol, sexual health, the wider determinants of health and adult mental health.

Richard has held a senior leadership role within Knowsley’s public health team over 15 years, since 2007. He currently is the lead for public health strategy, mental health & wellbeing/suicide prevention and influencing the wider determinants of health and inequalities. He has extensive experience of leading on and influencing on activities related to public health strategy development, population health intelligence, domestic abuse, suicide prevention, health impact assessments and embedding ‘health in all policies’ across the council and wider stakeholders.

Richard also provides strategic support to the Knowsley Health and Wellbeing Board to aid its development and ensure it fulfils its statutory duties. This has included experience of being responsible for overseeing the development of the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) and the production and implementation of the Knowsley Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy (JHWBS).

Richard is a verifier on the UKHSA Public Health Practitioner scheme, is a member of the C&M Wellbeing and Workforce Group and All Together Fairer (Marmot) Lead for Knowsley. He is the nominated research champion, has been the Council’s lead on the National Institute of Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care North West Coast (NIHR CLAHRC NWC) and subsequent Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) programme.

Beth is a Consultant in Public Health at Knowsley Council. Her portfolio includes health protection, health care public health, screening and immunisations, children’s health, oral health and sexual health. She is also interested in using behavioural insight to understand public health problems, and to develop initiatives.

Beth is an Educational Supervisor, having trained in the North West (in Cheshire and Merseyside). In her previous career, she worked in academic public health, carrying out research into social inequalities in health and children’s health.

Emer works in health protection in Liverpool, with colleagues in UKHSA, the NHS and beyond. She is passionate about advocacy for the marginalised, asylum seekers, vaccination, TB and emergency response.

A Dubliner, Emer studied medicine, trained as a GP, and had the privilege of working with Medecins sans Frontieres in Sudan, Ghana and Afghanistan. Armed with a Master’s degree in Public Health for Developing Countries, she has happily established her roots in Liverpool since 2000. Keen to work with others to make a difference together.

Elspeth trained in the Northwest on the Public Health training scheme. She is a medical doctor by background. Elspeth was an academic trainee and has published multiple peer reviewed papers.

She is passionate about improving health outcomes and reducing health inequalities through driving collective action to improve the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age within Liverpool. She believes strongly in working with and empowering local communities to improve health outcomes.

Elspeth’s current lead areas include wider determinants, addictions (drugs, alcohol, tobacco, gambling) and research and development, including being the lead for the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded Health Determinants Research collaboration Liverpool.

Chris is a Consultant in Public Health at Liverpool Council, having previously worked for Knowsley Council and trained in Cheshire and Merseyside.

Chris has extensive experience of working in the public and voluntary sector and her public health career to date includes health protection resilience and response, health improvement and community development, strategy development, service delivery, redesign and commissioning.

Her current lead areas include health care public health with a focus on long term conditions and multi-morbidity, healthy ageing and falls prevention, cancer, mental health and wellbeing. She is also leading the State of Health in Liverpool 2040 and its implementation.

Mel is passionate about working with families, children and young people to tackle inequalities and make Liverpool a Child Friendly City. Mel holds a broad portfolio covering children and young people including the Healthy Child Programme and children’s mental health and wellbeing.

Mel also cover a wider health improvement remit including programmes and related services for weight management, physical activity, post-natal depression and community champions, as well as overseeing the behavioural insight and epidemiology teams. Trainees on placement work with Mel at Liverpool gaining experience of various city partnerships such as 12 Family Hubs, Liverpool University, Behavioural Insight and Health Visiting services.

Cath joined the Sefton Council Public Health Team in February 2025, leading on a wide portfolio including health protection, screening and immunisations, NHS health checks and tobacco. Cath has over 20 years’ experience working in local government, the NHS and for the New Deal for Communities. She qualified as a Consultant in Public Health in June 2022, after completing the public health training scheme.

Prior to training, Cath worked for seven years within local authority public health teams, specialising in the wider determinants of health and health inequalities. Her interest in this area stems from her first degree in urban planning, after which she worked for seven years on community-based regeneration projects, strategies and policies.

Adam has worked in Public Health since 2008 in various roles within the NHS, central and local government, including seven years with the Champs Support Team. Previous work areas have included addictions, alcohol, healthy weight, data analysis, evidence and intelligence, commissioning, strategy development and service design and delivery.

Adam joined Sefton Council as a Public Health Consultant in August 2025 having trained in Cheshire and Merseyside. His current portfolio includes CYP and women’s health.

Diane has been working as a Consultant in Public Health for St Helens Council since completion of her Specialist training in 2008. Her current portfolio includes Health Protection, Healthcare Public Health and Sexual Health.

Diane achieved a MSci (hons) in Chemistry from the University of Nottingham prior to completing a MSc in Applied Public Health from Liverpool John Moores University and a Masters in Public Health from the University of Liverpool. Diane gained professional registration with UKPHR as a Defined Specialist in 2016

Diane has over 20 years’ experience working in the Public Health, starting her career in Public health research at John Moores University and then at the University of Manchester.

Michelle has worked as a consultant in Public Health since 2006 across Greater Manchester including Rochdale and Bolton. She enjoys working with voluntary sector organisations and is an advocate for physical activity, particularly running, and its impact on wellbeing. Michelle also provides Public Health leadership to the Safer Communities Partnership and Youth Justice Board and is a team leader for Public Health Intelligence and Research. Public Health Trainer and Appraiser.

Mike has over 24 years of experience in various public health roles within the NHS and Local Government. Over the past 12 years, he has held senior leadership positions as a public health specialist and consultant, operating at both local and regional levels across Oldham, Greater Manchester, North Northamptonshire and Berkshire West.

Most recently he was the health protection lead for Berkshire West (Reading, Slough, and West Berkshire Borough Councils).  His professional interests extend to a broad spectrum of public health issues and challenges, including systems thinking, workforce development, and veterans’ health.

Outside of work, he finds enjoyment in camping, hill walking, and fell running, and he actively participates in the local Mow Cop Runners community.  He maintains an active role in the RAF Reserves 4624 SQN (City of Oxford), stationed at RAF Brize Norton. Returning to Warrington and Cheshire holds special significance for him, as it marks the starting point of his public health career as the first smoking cessation advisor in Cheshire.

Tracy joined Wirral as Consultant in public health in April 2023. Whilst new to Wirral, Tracy has over 20 years’ experience working in Public Health. She has a background in statistics and epidemiology and is committed to ensuring we use our collective intelligence to improve health and address inequalities.

Tracy has worked at national level on the health inequalities agenda and is passionate about working with communities to truly understand needs and assets and address the wider determinants of health. Tracy has a real interest in workforce development, she is an Educational Supervisor and will support Registrars to achieve their learning outcomes. She also provides support to public health professionals who are progressing their public health career in other ways, including mentoring people pursuing Specialist Registration by Portfolio Assessment.

Jane began working in Wirral in 1998 as a research assistant in the Public Health team. During her 24 years of working for Public Health in Wirral, Jane also occupied the role of Director of Public Health for a period of 5 years (until her children came along). Since that point, she has been a Consultant in Public Health.

She currently leads senior managers within the team (directing and supervising such lead areas as the Healthy Child Programme, Healthy Weight, NHS Health Checks) and is responsible for the Public Health Graduate scheme. She also mentors other employees as part of the council’s corporate mentorship programme.

Jane is the current Public Health consultant lead for Children, Young People and Families and is passionate about putting them at the heart of the council’s and wider Wirral partnership’s agenda for reducing inequalities. Working closely with colleagues in Children’s Services in particular, she is committed to improving the support offer to all children, whilst ensuring a targeted approach to those who need it most.

Jackie is AD- Public Health Consultant and joined the Wirral Public Health Team in February 2024. Before this, she has worked in London for over 25 years, both in public health and in senior posts in the NHS. In her last post, as Integrated Commissioning Director, she was accountable to both Local Authority and the NHS and was responsible for bringing together primary care contracting and public health approaches to improve population health outcomes and address inequalities. She is a Nurse/District Nurse by background, has an MBA and undertook her MPH at Liverpool University.

Sophie has worked in Public Health since 2013 and joined Wirral Council in 2023 to finish her training.  She has worked in public, research, third sector and intergovernmental organisations in all three domains of public health, at every level from local to global.  With a particular interest and background in healthy ageing and long-term conditions, Sophie now leads on public health in Adult Social Care and the healthy ageing agenda.

Thara is Director of Population Health and Inequalities at Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WHHT). Thara’s role is to support teams to improve the physical and mental health outcomes of patients, promote wellbeing and reduce health inequalities across the population and communities that the hospital serves.

Prior to joining the hospital, Thara was Director of Public Health for Warrington Borough Council and has worked in public health roles for over 30 years at a local, regional and national level. As an Education Supervisor, Thara has established WHHT as an official training location for public health registrars.

Paula is a Consultant in Public Health Medicine at the Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, where she is leading the Trust’s prevention and equity agenda, helping the Trust to improve outcomes, particularly for the most vulnerable. Prior to this role, she worked as a consultant in Public Health Medicine in Liverpool City Council, leading the healthcare public health portfolio.

Paula is a medical doctor by background. She is passionate about reducing inequalities, increasing value for money and maximising the impact of NHS resources. In her previous roles, Paula worked as a health economics and outcomes research consultant and in academia as a public health lecturer. She completed her post-doctoral studies as a research fellow in translational medicine at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, Canada. She is a member of the Technology Appraisal Committee and Indicators Advisory Committee at NICE.

Rachel is a Consultant in Paediatric Public Health Medicine at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and also has an academic appointment at Lancaster University where she is Professor of Children and Young People’s Health within Lancaster Medical School.

At Alder Hey she works clinically as part of her public health role, having continued to see patients alongside her public health training programme – after spending 15 years working in Paediatric Emergency Medicine, she is now focusing on vaccinations and paediatric vaping-associated nicotine dependence. She has doctorates in medical education and data science, and her academic work is very closely-aligned to her public health work, with a focus on health and healthcare inequalities impacting children and young people (including access to and involvement in research) and embedding public health approaches in secondary and tertiary paediatric care.

Before completing her Public Health speciality training in Cheshire and Merseyside, Ceriann worked in the addiction field undertaking roles in service delivery, management and commissioning. She joined the ICB as Associate Director of Population Health in 2024 after undertaking Consultant in Public Health roles in Cheshire West and Chester Council and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.

In her most recent role, Ceriann led on taking a whole system approach to healthy weight and reducing health inequalities in vulnerable groups. She has a keen interest in the role of Anchor Institutes in reducing health inequalities through their role in providing high quality employment, purchasing services for social benefit and using buildings and land to support communities.