Principles of Health Protection
Next Course - Autumn 2024 - dates to be announced
The arrival of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic strain of the Coronavirus has highlighted the importance of emergency preparedness, forward planning, and robust outbreak management systems and infrastructure. The importance of the normally, not in the news, Communicable Disease Control expertise and collaborative working with Public Health and other interrelated agencies has come to the forefront. Prevention is the best way forward and this is what we should excel at.
Internationally, our course will demonstrate the importance of infectious disease epidemiology, the planning to prevent outbreaks and horizon scanning for rising threats, which, if they were to occur, would devastate a country and its people. Preparedness planning pays and being knowledgeable about the communicable and non communicable incidents and outbreaks will serve leaders in this domain well.
About the course
The course will give participants a grounding in the core principles of health protection and is a useful building block towards achieving competency in health protection on call. The content will cover all the Faculty of Public Health competencies, including part of the syllabus for the DFPH (Diplomate exam) and will serve as a refresher and a primer for new practitioners (Consultant to Health Protection Practitioners).
Course Lead
Dr Bharat Pankhania, Senior Clinical Lecturer, University of Exeter Medical School with contributions from expert guest speakers.
Virtual delivery dates
Bookings now open for our Autumn Course! 28th Sept, 3rd, 5th, 10th, 12th, 17th and 19th October 2023, 12:30 - 16:30
Delivery Format
This seven day course will be delivered virtually on 28th Sept, 3rd, 5th, 10th, 12th, 17th and 19th October 2023
The sessions will use a combination of participatory methodologies including presentations, case studies, table top exercises, group discussions and problem-based learning with ample opportunities for discussion, debate and blue sky thinking.
The course will include approximately 28 taught hours plus self-directed study. We advise you to make every effort to join all sessions to gain the most out of the course. If you are unable to attend any of the sessions, do not worry, the sessions will be recorded and will be made available.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course the learner will be expected to be able to:
- Understand the underlying principles of Health Protection and Communicable Disease Control as well as planning for and responding to emerging threats, emerging infections and environmental incidents
- Understand the art and craft of outbreak control and management and its application in a public health setting
- Become conversant with the fundamentals of dynamic surveillance and timely interventions
- Understand the principles of immunisation and instituting immunisation programmes
- Use worked examples of collaborative working and communication skills
- Understand the importance of collaboration with partners and communicating risks
- Become part of a community of practitioners from a range of sectors
Delegate Rate
For seven virtual contact days in addition to recorded lectures, resources and teaching materials, a delegate rate of £1,100 - with an EARLY BIRD RATE of £990 until July 31st 2023!
Feedback and Certificates
We will ask you to complete a polling survey at the end of each day. Your feedback will allow us to make adjustments for the next delivery session.
At the end of the course, we will send you a certificate highlighting the learning outcomes with a section where you can complete your own CPD Reflection of the course, which you can use in a future professional development review
Useful for those already working in or considering working in public health, health protection, infection control, environmental health, infections with an animal and human interface, and primary care.
Programme for Principles of Health Protection CPD Course
This programme may be subject to minor alterations.
Day |
Topic |
|---|---|
| Day 1 |
Principles of Surveillance & Operational Outbreak Management Concepts and data collection are required for timely actions. We will explore sources of timely data for a robust surveillance system, which then informs best use of resources for appropriate control measures. Early interventions save lives and cost less. Delays in interventions cost lives and it becomes difficult if not impossible to regain control. We will use the examples of the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic to illustrate this important point. The importance of a multi-agency local approach to control outbreaks cannot be underestimated. An outbreak is never a situation which we can manage in isolation, we will explore the multi-dimensional impact of a small, medium, and large outbreak as well as a pandemic and illustrate the actions required for each level. These incidents may appear to need a clinical only intervention, when interventions from behavioural scientists, other sectors such as industry, education, transport can all come together to provide better outcomes. A joint operations template is required to manage incidents. |
| Day 2 |
Pandemics & the Art and Craft of Outbreak Planning Outbreaks are our bread and butter; training and experience make for better outcomes, management and protects the population. Whilst we cannot create outbreaks to order, we will create a simulated, realistic outbreak with engagement from all key sectors. This will include bringing together subject matter experts, the co-ordination of the operation, advice and informing key stakeholders and a simulated press briefing too. The daily tools of surveillance, epidemiology, testing, sampling, hypothesis generating, investigative case studies, report writing will all be brought into play. This exercise will be an indicator of how we could have better managed the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic locally, nationally and internationally. |
| Day 3 |
Principles and Practices of Vaccines and Immunisation: TB, Malaria, Dengue Vaccines have and continue to save lives. Without vaccines 50% of us would not be here. The rapid advancement in developing vaccines is an example of how fast progress is possible in adversarial times. Working with subject matter experts in virology, immunology and vaccinology has enabled us to develop tried and trusted vaccines as well as try new platforms. These new platforms have the potential to alter preventative medicine interventions. Imagine a vaccine to prevent chronic diseases - this may soon become possible. We will address the fantastic developments in the field of vaccines and what else can also be achieved via the vaccines route, especially as antibiotics may be becoming ineffective.
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| Day 4 |
Emerging Threats, Emerging Infections and TB The interface between vectors and infections merits a lot of attention. With warming temperatures, we can expect to see infections that were once rare or did not exist in the colder climate countries. In addition, we can expect infections in both the human population as well as farm livestock and the introduction of infections into the wild animal population as well. There are also consequences for agriculture, forests, plant, and animal species. This horizon scanning is important: we must plan, prepare, and put in timely control measures.
|
| Day 5 |
Emergency Preparedness and Planning Prior planning saves lives. Failure to plan implies planning for a failure (Margaret Chan former WHO Director). Just as in controlling an outbreak, there is the importance of test, test, and test (WHO Director General 20202). There is also a mantra of plan, plan, and plan. Review plan and repeat. A fine example of different planning approaches is the comparison of how the South Korean and neighbouring Far Eastern countries have been managing the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic compared to the USA and UK. Multi-agency planning, resilience forums and chains of accountability and command are all important skills and systems to have for when any incident arises. |
| Day 6 |
Global Health Day Climate change is a public health emergency. We are close to reaching tipping point and this day will address the important and urgent actions that are needed globally to hopefully delay the tipping point and, in the best scenario, avoid the consequences of global warming and climate change. We will address the principles of climate change and global warming and its consequences for planet earth as well as addressing quick win interventions and long-term strategy. |
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Day 7 Details to be confirmed |
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Whether you study on-campus, virtually, or via a blended learning programme, you'll be supported by the University of Exeter's world-class faculty with wide-ranging opportunities to develop interdisciplinary and vocational skills. Find out more
Speakers
Dr Bharat Pankhania
Dr Bharat Pankhania has widespread experience of advising on national communicable disease control action plans at national and international level. Having had experience of both Primary and Secondary Care, Dr Pankhania realised that to make a bigger contribution to people`s health, primary prevention of illness was important, thus he trained in Public Health Medicine and thereafter did further training in infectious diseases and Communicable Disease Control.
Dr Pankhania’s experience includes:
Pandemic Influenza outbreak planning and major plan testing exercises. He was the local Lead for Pandemic Influenza planning at Public Health England and became the reference point for outbreak planning, testing systems and control strategies.
Ebola and SARS: Dr Pankhania was immersed in and contributed to the Ebola and SARS surveillance and control methodologies, specialist screening methods at ports of entry.
Tuberculosis: Dr Pankhania became an expert in investigating clusters of Tuberculosis and using newly developed tools. Investigations and controlling TB outbreaks in schools, hospitals and prisons.
Legionella: Dr Pankhania has led on and was the Legionella lead in his previous job. He investigated complex outbreaks, advised hospitals and hotels and also developed expertise in the health and safety law relating to Legionella.
Dr Kev Smith
Dr Kev Smith is Regional Director Public Health Commissioning for NHS England, North East and Yorkshire. He has been the principal advisor to the NHS in the region throughout the height of the COVID pandemic advising the NHS Executive team and system leaders on the likely impact on NHS services.
Dr Bharat Sibal
National Border/Port Health Team - PHE
Consultant Communicable Disease Control at PHE West Midlands
Bharat is currently the national border/port health team of PHE CCDC currently and was the Lead Consultant in Communicable Disease Control working for Public Health England, Health Protection Team based in Birmingham, England UK over the last decade. He is the Faculty of Public Health’s UK Advisor/Regional CPD co-ordinator for West Midlands, England. He is passionate about teaching and has been mentoring medical students in at least four main universities of the UK.
He was the PHE West Midlands lead duringEbola outbreak and Zika and measles outbreaks. He has worked extensively for Polio Eradication with WHO in Nepal and India and has wide interests in control of infectious diseases regionally, nationally and internationally. Other interests include health inequalities, epidemiology, health promotion, clinical governance, public health training and risk communication. Bharat’s professional interests lie in system leadership; capability building and developing partnerships across boundaries to achieve system-wide innovation and impact on patient/public safety.
Bharat also has a number of publications including editorials in reputed peer-reviewed journals to his name over a career spanning over 25 years.
Dr Smita Kapadia
Dr Smita Kapadia is a Consultant in Communicable Disease Control working within the UKHSA’s East of England Health Protection Team, where she leads the Healthcare Associated Infections & Antimicrobial Resistance workstream. Smita trained in India as well as the East of England and qualified as a consultant in 2011; she has over 15 years of communicable disease control experience and understands the challenges of controlling infectious diseases in resource-limited contexts. Smita led the East of England Health Protection Team’s COVID Response Cell. One of her current areas of focus is the ongoing Group A streptococcus situation.
Dr Bret Palmer
Upon leaving secondary school, Bret worked in the civil service and eventually took himself to Leeds University. After leaving with a master’s degree in chemistry, he then gained entry into Bart’s and The London Medical School, an enjoyable time with a memorable stint with the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, as part of his medical elective. After qualifying as a medical doctor, he then worked in hospital-based medicine for 4 years, mainly working in emergency medicine and care of the elderly.
His hospital experience reinforced the maxim of ‘prevention is better than cure’. Most of the cases he dealt with, especially in emergency medicine, were wholly preventable. The most surprising aspect was that most of these cases had no idea of the basic life changes they needed to make in order to improve their health for the long term. During training as a specialist public health doctor, he studied a Master’s in Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and gained by CCT in Public Health in 2016. He then decided that in order to do front line public health work, he'd step back to do Genitourinary medicine (GUM) training. I CCT in GUM and HIV medicine in 2020.
Dr Raphaëlle D. Haywood
Raphaëlle is a Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Astrophysics and STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellow in Physics and Astronomy at the University of Exeter who hunts for planets that orbit other stars. Specifically, her research focuses on understanding the natural variability of planet-hosting stars to better characterise the planets around them. She recently advised NASA and the US National Science Foundation on designing a roadmap to discover Earth-like planets over the next decade. She is passionate about addressing social and environmental issues and is using astronomical observations to inspire people to action. She is a member of Exeter's Global Systems Institute. Before joining Exeter, Raphaëlle was a NASA Sagan Fellow at Harvard University. She holds a Masters in Physics from Imperial College London (2011), a PhD in Astrophysics from the University of St Andrews (2015), and a Certificate in Sustainability from the Harvard Extension School (2019).
Contact us
If you have any other enquiries about the course, please email us.
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