What is public health?

What is public health?

Public health is about helping people to stay healthy and protecting them from threats to their health. Sometimes public health activities involve helping individuals. At other times they involve dealing with wider factors that have an impact on the health of many people. Examples of this include an age-group, an ethnic group, a locality, or a country.

Public health aims to reduce the causes of ill health and improve people’s health and wellbeing. It covers the following areas:

• improving people's health
  action to improve health and wellbeing and to reduce health inequalities. For example, by helping people quit smoking or improving their living conditions.
• health protection
  protecting individuals, groups and populations from infectious disease and non-infectious public health threats. This includes infectious disease control, protection against environmental health hazards and emergency response. We also take action for clean air, water and food.
• health services
  ensuring that our health services are effective, efficient and accessible to all.

Who we are

Dr Eunan O’Neill is the Director of Public Health for Cornwall. He leads a team dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of local residents. Originally from Ireland, Eunan began his career as a dentist. He then moved into public health, where he has held senior roles in both Cornwall and Oxfordshire.

Eunan is a Specialist in Public Health and a Specialist in Dental Public Health. He has extensive experience working with local government, the NHS, and universities. He has provided strategic leadership on health protection, tackling differences in health between communities, and using research to inform public health priorities.

As Centre Director for the Cornwall Health Determinants Research Collaboration, Eunan led research partnerships to develop evidence-based approaches for Cornwall’s communities. He played a key role in the local response in Oxfordshire to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Eunan has also delivered improvements in public services. This included local health checks and oral health programmes.

Eunan is committed to the future of public health. He actively trains and mentors the next generation of public health professionals. He is also an Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Exeter.

View a structure chart for Cornwall Wellbeing and Public Health.

How do we help?

We have a wide range of programmes that can help you to improve your health and wellbeing. From pregnancy and the early years of life through to active, healthy ageing.

We are responsible for a range of public health services including:

• health visiting
• school nursing
• drug and alcohol treatment
• sexual health services

These are alongside programmes which prevent or address key health issues for people living in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Healthy Cornwall is Cornwall Council’s health promotion service. They provide information and support on ways to improve your health and wellbeing. Services include:

• smoking cessation
• healthy eating and healthy weight
• workforce health and wellbeing, including free NHS Health Checks
• advice on cutting down on alcohol
• learning disability and autism support

We also offer support for mental health. This includes keeping your mind fit and well, advice on what to do if you start to struggle, and what to do if you need support.

We commission sexual health services across Cornwall. This includes:

• testing for sexually transmitted infections and treatment
• contraception (including long lasting and emergency)
• pregnancy testing
• specialised young people’s services, including information and support for teenage pregnancies

We produce reports and papers, including the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment. This is to identify and track changes in local health needs and identify inequalities in our population. This in turn determines our priorities and the work we do.

How do we work?

Here are some of the ways the public health team at Cornwall Council works to improve health and wellbeing:

• We have responsibility to provide or commission effective public health services. The Department of Health and Social Care provides grant funding for us to deliver these.
• We analyse health trends and data. This is to spot gaps, problems and emerging diseases early, and make plans to deal with those issues
• We work in partnership with:
  • the NHS
  • voluntary and community sector
  • local businesses
  • schools
  • colleges
  • universities
• With our partners we coordinate resources, add value and take collaborative action to improve health and wellbeing in every aspect of our lives
• We identify and address inequalities that have a negative impact on health and wellbeing. We also champion the needs of vulnerable groups.
• We show public health leadership and support workforce development. This is to make sure we can provide the right services for our population now and in the future.
• The Council makes decisions that can have big impacts on your physical and mental health. These include planning, licensing, transport, cultural activities, housing and social care. We work with all services so that we can make the most of every opportunity to improve health and wellbeing.
• To raise awareness about health and wellbeing, we coordinate
  • communications
  • campaigns
  • media
  • public engagement
  • community outreach
  • liaison
• We make sure we have the right services for residents by showing strong:
  • planning
  • commissioning
  • procurement
  • governance
  • business management
• We have a focus on academia, research and monitoring and evaluation. This is so that our work is informed by the latest evidence.

Who do we work with?

Working in partnership with other organisations is central to reducing health inequalities. Health inequalities are the avoidable, unfair and systematic differences in health between different groups of people. Many organisations, including the Council, are working to improve the health, wellbeing and lives of people in Cornwall. Change cannot be achieved by acting alone.

Some of our partners include:

• The National Health Service (NHS) including primary and secondary care, and the local integrated care board
• Community groups and voluntary organisations
• Local businesses
• Early years settings, schools and colleges
• Other local authorities and governmental departments
• Universities and research bodies

Our role in the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care System

Integrated care systems (ICSs) are partnerships that bring together:

• NHS organisations
• local authorities
• VCSE organisations
• other local partners

They take collective responsibility for planning services, improving health and reducing inequalities across geographical areas.

We work with the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board. This is the statutory organisation of the Integrated Care System. They allocate the NHS budget and commission services to meet the following objectives:

• improve outcomes in population health and healthcare
• tackle inequalities in outcomes, experience and access
• enhance productivity and value for money
• help the NHS support broader social and economic development