We want Leeds to be a healthy city for all ages and all communities. In public health we look beyond health services at the wider issues that contribute to illness and impact people’s wellbeing.
As public health professionals we work with and for the communities we serve to make sure that no community is left behind. We educate and empower individuals to lead healthy lives. We consider how the environments we live, work and grow old in can affect people’s health and we find ways to remove barriers and facilitate access to high quality services.
Within the wider public health team our individual teams have a specific area of focus to reflect the diverse health needs of the population we serve.
The scope of our teams includes:
- older people and long-term conditions
- healthy living and health improvement
- children and families
- health protection and sexual health
- public mental health
- localities and primary care
Our dynamic workforce collaborates on wide-ranging projects with strategic partners locally and within the third sector. Work can vary from producing assessments of the health needs of subgroups within the city to the commissioning and development of health-promoting services informed by these assessments.
Roles for public health professionals include:
- Chief Officer/Consultant in Public Health: provides strategic and systems leadership to improve health and reduce health inequalities, including evidence-based direction to guide provision of clinically safe and cost-effective services
- Health Improvement Principal: takes a strategic lead in the development, implementation and commissioning of programmes to improve health and reduce health inequalities
- Health Improvement Specialist: contributes to the implementation of specialist local health improvement programmes that reflect public health policies, strategies and work programmes
Opportunities may also arise in our team for professionals with other areas of expertise to support service delivery, manage projects and inform our work through data management and analysis.
Our colleagues say:
Laura, Health Improvement Principal, Health Protection
“In health protection, we’re well embedded in the city’s health and care system to ensure a coordinated response to local situations. Our role is unique in that we work proactively to address the needs of Leeds communities as well as responding to emerging outbreaks in settings across the city. There are always new areas of work to engage with and new partners to learn from.”
Zoe, Advanced Health Improvement Practitioner
“This role combines my existing skills and experiences with my passion for making a difference to children’s lives long term. Our wonderful, vibrant and growing city has many strengths but also vast inequalities. In public health we aim to challenge and address some of the disparities in the city through programmes that promote the health of children and families. It’s fulfilling to know I’m playing a part in this.”
