We need a Public Health Act fit for 21st century

If I ruled the NHS, strengthened public health and primary and community care would go further than the currently fashionable talk of integration, to re-embrace housing and town planning and the “hidden lay healthcare system” that accounts for most care.

Other challenges I would tackle include bringing back robust local public health intelligence, no longer provided by the public health observatories, and a new approach to workforce development that recognises the importance of practical nursing and the reservoir of untapped young talent in our communities. It is lunacy to reject well …