Professor Rod Thomson, who up until recently has been interim Director of Population Health for Cheshire East, is taking up a new position in Cheshire and Merseyside as he becomes interim Director of Public Health for St Helens.
Prior to specialising in public health, Rod’s early career was as a psychiatric and general nurse. His move to public health developed from his role as a Health Visitor in the East End of Glasgow. Following a move to Cheshire in the 1990s he worked in a range of senior roles in Cheshire and Merseyside before becoming Director of Public Health for Shropshire in 2010. Though he retired in 2019, Rod has continued to support the subregion’s public health community as a consultant.
Rod said: “It has been a privilege to work with the wonderful Cheshire East public health team and to support the range of communities in the area, most notably a diverse rural community spread across 12 market towns and countless villages and hamlets. I wish new permanent Director of Public Health Claire McIver the best of luck as she has taken up this role and I now look forward to supporting St Helens’ public health team and continuing to work across the subregion as a member of the Champs Collaborative Executive Board.”
Whilst he was in the Cheshire East role, Rod has written a blog and briefing paper about the public health needs of rural communities, which you can read here