Introduction
Since the beginning of 2020, Directors of Public Health, their public health teams and the wider public health community have worked together to respond to the biggest public health emergency in a lifetime.
An ever-changing and fast-moving situation, this pandemic required a whole-system response that started with advice, planning and issuing guidance, and soon included strategies for testing, vaccination and contact tracing support for businesses and workplaces.
Cheshire and Merseyside’s ongoing response has been made easier by the strong history of public health collaboration in the subregion, enabled though the Collaborative and the Champs Support Team. You can learn more about this response in our Looking Back website for 2020 and 2021.
What we did
Working with a variety of partners, including Public Health England (now the UK Health Security Agency), the NHS, local authorities and national government, the Collaborative:
• Provided advice and guidance to the subregion’s two Local Resilience Forums (LRFs)
• Quickly developed a subregional Contact Tracing Hub, in partnership with Public Health England (now the UK Health Security Agency) for complex cases (like asylum seekers) and settings (like prisons)
• Produced a Cheshire and Merseyside Outbreak Management Framework to support local authorities
• Created a joint Test, Trace, Contain (TTC) strategy for the subregion
• Supported the development of the nationally recognised and award-winning Combined Intelligence for Population Health Action (CIPHA) data platform
• Developed impactful joint statements for stakeholders, the public and the media
• Commissioned and led on innovative campaigns like Kind to Your Mind (for mental health and wellbeing) and Spread the Facts (to share guidance and advice to younger people)
• Created new assets and tools for CVD prevention as part of our Happy Hearts campaign and Programme
• Set up training for contact tracing of COVID-19 for local authority teams
Leadership
The Collaborative’s ongoing pandemic response is coordinated by the Directors of Public Health Executive Board, currently Chaired by Dr Sarah McNulty, Director of Public Health for Knowsley.
Find out more about Sarah here
More information
The Champs Support Team assists Directors of Public Health with the ongoing pandemic response. For more information, please contact Helen Cartwright, Head of Programmes, by emailing helencartwright@wirral.gov.uk.
This page was last updated on 26th April 2022. If you notice an issue with the information on this page, please contact champscommunications@wirral.gov.uk.