Champs Public Health Collaborative System Leadership Meeting | Key messages | December 2025

The Cheshire and Merseyside Directors of Public and Population Health met for their system leadership meeting on Friday, 12^th December.  The key messages from the meeting are below, along with items of good news and gratitude.

The Champs Directors would like to thank all colleagues and partners for their work this year, locally and collaboratively and wish everyone a very happy Christmas and a healthy 2026.

1. Gambling related harms – Jo Sampson, from the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities, joined the Directors to give them an update on gambling related harms. The North West has the second highest rate of gambling related harms and only a very small portion of people are able to access help. All local authorities have highlighted the issue as a concern. Directors discussed the forthcoming prevention levy and the best way to utilise the funding to roll out interventions at a local and subregional level across Cheshire and Merseyside, building on the local work already in place.
2. Working closely with environmental health – Dave Watson, Chair of the Cheshire and Merseyside Environmental Health Officers group, attended the meeting to agree ways of working with the Directors to further integrate environmental health with public health. Dave currently sits on several public health working groups, and it was suggested he connect with colleagues on the Cheshire and Merseyside public health devolution group in the future.
3. Inpatient Detox Consortium (IPD) – Gary Rickwood, lead commissioner for the Consortium in Cheshire and Merseyside, shared a paper showing positive results of the IPD programme, which aims to deliver safer, more responsive and more equitable detoxification care for people across Cheshire and Merseyside. There has been an 82% treatment completion rate against a national average of 47% and 28.5-day average wait, below the 30-day national recommended target. The paper and the additional funding for 2026-27 was agreed by Directors.
4. Population health update – Ian Ashworth, Director of Population Health for NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, updated that the Population Health Partnership met recently and they continued to review the plans required. Work is continuing with pioneer sites on developing neighbourhood plans.
5. UKHSA update – Flu is still impacting heavily on the NHS with an early surge in young adults contracting the H3N2 strain, which is now spreading across the population. UKHSA is awaiting its final budget settlement and is planning for the future.
6. Good news and gratitude:
   1. Congratulations were expressed to Margaret Jones and Helen Bromley who were both recognised at the recent Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) conference. Margaret received the CMOs’ National Impact Award and Helen was presented with a Partnership Award.
   2. The Directors are pleased to see the publication of the Government’s child poverty strategy and that Cheshire and Merseyside’s situational analysis and framework for action is cited on page 28.
   3. Thanks were given to Hannah Ingham and the team on the production of a case study video with a local resident who was supported to quit smoking. The video will be featured as part of a campaign in the New Year.
   4. The Municipal Journal has featured a joint article with Mayor Steve Rotheram and Councillor Louise Gittins on delivering health and devolution.
   5. Wirral have successfully implemented two closure orders against businesses selling illegal vapes and cigarettes.
   6. Wirral has been working to tackle worklessness with a recent session helping people who have not been employed for some time. After the session, 80% of those who attended left with a conditional offer of employment. Well done to everyone.