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LETTERS: Lalit Dandona Academic medicine: time for reinvention: Public health sciences need strengthening in developing countries BMJ 2004; 328: 47-a [Full text]

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Academic Public Health in the UK

Sian M Griffiths   (6 September 2004)

Academic Public Health in the UK 6 September 2004
Sian M Griffiths, Senior Clinical Lecturer Oxford University Department of Public Health, OX3 7LF Send response to journal: Re: Academic Public Health in the UK	Much of the correspondence on the future of academic medicine has focussed on the clinical specialties. Many of the problems are common to public health. The recent survey by the Council of Heads of Medical Schools makes it clear that public health medicine faces the most severe problems: a. Overall changes in post since 2000: Public health is the most negatively affected of all specialities with a loss of 32%. When this is put alongside the drop in pathology, a loss of 25%, this is particularly harmful for the future of academic health protection. b. Changes by grade since 2000: a loss of 20% professors; a loss of 22% readers/senior lecturers; a loss of 59% lecturers. c. Public health medicine has also lost most in funding from outside sources. These figures speak for themselves in describing the parlous state of academic public health. However, the CMO’s report , whilst voicing general concern about academic medicine failed to make this point. The report by the Wellcome Foundation published this year highlights the common problems faced by public health. Its recommendations are: • An overarching national strategy needs to be developed to secure the future of the public health sciences at a time when the UK health services is being refocused towards the promotion of good health and the prevention of illness • The academic infrastructure for public health sciences at all levels needs to be strengthened through coordinated, long term investment • The partnership between the universities and the NHS in the public health field should be re-established and public health centres could be established to bring together public health science, social science and public health service delivery • The practical aspects of the regulatory framework need to be streamlined as these processes can act as a strong cumulative disincentive to embarking upon public health research and may divert resources unnecessarily away from this area • A more informed dialogue between public health scientists, the public, policy makers and the media must be engendered to develop a better understanding of risk in relation to health. Choosing Health gives us an opportunity to do something about this. Let’s hope it is taken. Yours sincerely PROFESSOR SIAN GRIFFITHS OBE Competing interests: None declared