Public Health

Islington and Camden councils are delighted to confirm the appointment of Julie Billett as their Director for Public Health, starting from 1 February 2013.

Her appointment anticipates the creation of a shared public health service for Camden and Islington from April 2013, when all local authorities will assume new responsibilities for public health.

This will involve educating and promoting healthy lifestyles to our communities as well as influencing who provides local health services.

You can view the proposals for the service on our democracy pages. The decision was ratified by the Joint Boards of the NHS Primary Care Trusts on 20 July 2012 and paves the way for the appointment of a single director of public health in August.

By working collaboratively both authorities will be able to draw on each other’s experience and expertise, allowing for the boroughs' similar health challenges to be tackles more effectively and efficiently together. The aim is to provide better health service and improved health for residents across the boroughs.

Building on our joint working

Islington Council and NHS Islington (part of the NHS North London Cluster) have been working in close partnership since 2002. A number of senior posts have been held jointly across the council and the local NHS service for many years.

This joint approach means that the culture of both organisations has been to share a joint vision for health in the borough and has resulted in some excellent improvements for residents. For example, the council and the NHS have done a lot of joint work on tackling underage and illegal sales of cigarettes and alcohol to improve health. We have also worked together to reduce teenage pregnancy rates for under 18s and improving access to psychological therapies.

Annual Public Health Report

The Annual Public Health Report 2012 focuses on the impacts of alcohol on the population of Islington, and recommendations around how we can work together to tackle it.

Click through for the executive summary, or the full report here.

Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2013 - 2016

This strategy has been developed by Islington's shadow Health and Wellbeing Board (sHWB). It is our overarching plan to improve the health and wellbeing of adults and children in our borough and to reduce health inequalities

Read the strategy and the executive summary