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

The Cheshire and Merseyside Directors of Public and Population Health met for their system leadership meeting on Friday 14th March 2025.  Please see below the key messages from the meeting, along with items of good news and gratitude.

1. Violence Reduction Partnership – The Partnership aims to prevent and reduce serious violence in Merseyside provided an update to Directors.
2. HIV Fast Track Cities – The sexual health commissioners are leading this programme for C&M to end new cases of HIV by 2030 and an update was provided. Over 200 cities across the world are part of this movement to get to zero new cases of HIV, zero preventable deaths, zero stigma and discrimination and a better quality of life for people living with HIV. The commissioners were thanked for their leadership.
3. Population Health/NHS Cheshire and Merseyside – Prof. Ian Ashworth highlighted NHS Cheshire and Merseyside announcing Cathy Elliott will be the organisation’s new Chief Executive, which follows the announcement that current Chief Executive, Graham Urwin, is retiring. The Collaborative looks forward to welcoming Cathy to Cheshire and Merseyside and working with her, whilst wishing Graham a happy retirement.
4. UK Health Security Agency – An update was provided including cases of Norovirus are dropping, while there has been a small increase in Measles cases in the North West and Cheshire and Merseyside. Directors of Public Health and their teams continue to work with UKHSA to monitor these outbreaks.
5. Public Health Narrative – Cheshire and Merseyside’s approach to workforce development and wellbeing is being developed so that it can be presented as an exemplar, highlighting the positives of practicing public health in the subregion. Work continues on targeted communications and advocacy to help see that no child in Cheshire and Merseyside lives in poverty.
6. All Together Fairer – The All Together Fairer programme is heading towards its third anniversary. The Programme is looking strong and in particular, the All Together Fairer Leads Group has been commended for its dedication and commitment to reducing health inequalities. Options are being explored for a programme in the subregion to see children being auto-enrolled for Free School Meals. The Collaborative expresses its gratitude to Alan Higgins, who has been working within the Champs Support Team as a Strategic Lead for All Together Fairer. Alan will soon be finishing his role in the Champs Support Team but will stay in touch with Cheshire and Merseyside due to his ongoing work with the Institute of Health Equity.

Good News and Gratitude

• Cheshire and Merseyside’s Alcohol Programme has been nominated in the North West Coast Research and Innovation Awards 2025 in the category ‘Outstanding contribution to patient and public involvement and engagement award’.
• Prof. Matt Ashton, Director of Public Health for Liverpool and Co-Chair of the All Together Fairer Board, is being interviewed by the Royal College of Physicians on the subregion’s work to reduce health inequalities. This will form part of a wider piece which includes input from Sir Michael Marmot.
• The All Together Smokefree Programme has successfully launched the Smoking Ends Here campaign and website on No Smoking Day 2025. As part of this, prominent landmarks were lit up in Cheshire West and Chester, and the St John’s Beacon in Liverpool was turned into a cigarette displaying campaign messages.
• The team behind the Healthy Schools Programme in Knowsley, which aims to support children to achieve and maintain a healthy weight, has recently celebrated positive feedback.
• Knowsley’s Corporate Plan was recently approved, which has a strong focus on inequalities and prevention of ill-health.
• Warrington’s Public Health Annual Report and been completed to submitted to the local Health and Wellbeing Board.
• Warrington is developing its local research capacity with a funded post from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
• A representative from Warrington will be attending and presenting at the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health Conference with a focus on public protection.
• Cheshire and Merseyside has been chosen to take park in the CLEAR Living Well Programme, which is designed to support primary care networks (PCNs) across England with the continued focus on the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
• Directors of Public Health and Population Health expressed their sincere gratitude to Kath O’Dwyer, Chief Executive of St Helens Borough Council, who will soon be retiring. Kath’s support as a Chief Executive has been invaluable to the work of the Collaborative and her passion and commitment will be missed.
• Positive discussions have been taking place between Liverpool City Council and the BBC as planning begins for the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend Festival in May, which will have a strong emphasis on ensuring the health and wellbeing of those who attend.
• Wirral’s is publishing a Local Plan which will have a positive impact on many areas of the council, including regeneration and health.
• Wirral’s Public Health Annual Report has been approved and the tremendous work contained within the report has been acknowledged.