North West Public Health Team, Department of Health, UK
North West Public Health Team, Department of Health UK
18th Floor, City Tower
Piccadilly Plaza
Manchester
M1 4BE
United Kingdom
The North West Public Health Group works closely with key partners on action for health protection. We have introduced measures to strengthen and assure the health of the North West against new and emerging infections and risks from terrorism.
Regional public health groups are responsible for ensuring effective health protection arrangements - such as infectious disease control - are in place. They also co-ordinate action between the Health Protection Agency and strategic health authorities with the assistance of regional resilience teams in Government Offices.
The Group currently works closely with the Health Development Agency, the Health Protection Agency and the Public Health Observatory on immunization, infectious diseases and emergency planning. It has a dedicated Population Healthcare team responsible for screening programmes. The North West has also been asked to lead work to develop greater understanding of the Government’s new national violence prevention agenda.
VPA focal person
Professor John Ashton CBE
Regional Director of Public Health and Regional Medical Officer for the UK Department of Health
Tel: +44 161 952 4432
E-mail: john.r.ashton@dh.gsi.gov.uk
Professor John Ashton CBE is the North West Regional Director Of Public Health and Regional Medical Officer for the Department of Health. A specialist in psychiatry, general practice, family planning and public health medicine, he has taught public health at undergraduate and post-graduate levels internationally. Appointed as the UK violence focal point to WHO on behalf of the Chief Medical Officer in 2004, Professor Ashton works closely with the Centre for Public Health, Liverpool John Moores University and the Health Protection Agency for the North West to promote a coordinated public health approach to violence prevention across the United Kingdom.