News Archive 2004

Statement on merger talks with the RSPH

Since March 2004, the RIPH has been in discussion with the RSPH about a possible merger. Unfortunately, on Monday 29 November the merger discussions broke down when the Council of the RSPH decided to withdraw, citing unresolved due diligence issues in a statement issued on 2 December.

The Council of the RIPH regrets this decision and believes that the RSPH's statement does not properly and fairly reflect the facts. The issues raised by the RSPH were addressed through the professional advisers of the RIPH and in joint meetings of trustees. There is a difference of opinion between the professional advisers of the RSPH and RIPH that we have worked hard to resolve, but the two sets of advisers have been unable to agree. As a result the RSPH have withdrawn from discussions completely.

At a special meeting today, the RIPH Council agreed to continue to explore the possibility of building a relationship with other parties in the public health arena. We shall also be building on the accreditation received in the last few days for a new qualification, which promises to increase income significantly in 2005.

The RIPH remains committed to collaborating with the RSPH within the wider public health arena.

Jack Jeffery
Chairman of Council, RIPH

3 December 2004

Coalition for public health action calls for a complete smoking ban in public places

The Coalition for Public Health Action welcomes the Government’s White Paper, Choosing Health – Making healthy choices easier’ , and in particular the positive steps towards achieving smoke free public environments.

However, on behalf of 20,000 UK public health professionals, we wish to express our concern that the Government has not taken this opportunity to propose a complete ban on smoking in all enclosed public places which are also invariably other people’s places of work

Over four fifths of British workers would like to see smoking banned in their work place and, in a BBC poll of 9000 people, 73% of respondents backed a ban on smoking in all public places.

We question why a minority of the population should be subjected to the health risks of second hand smoke by dint of the fact they work in or frequent exempt premises. We are also dismayed that the proposed incomplete ban will not be implemented until 2007.

We call on the Government to learn from the experience of Ireland and New York and to set an early date for the complete banning of smoking in enclosed public spaces and work places.
 

  • The Coalition for Public Health Action is a unique collaboration of five UK public health bodies: the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, the Faculty of Public Health, the Royal Institute of Public Health, the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health and the UK Public Health Association.
     
  • The Coalition for Public Health Action collectively has the widest representation of public health workers in the UK. Building on over 400 years of collective public health experience, we represent over 20,000 members across all the major public health disciplines. This includes environmental health, medicine, nursing, microbiology, epidemiology, food safety, nutrition, drinking water safety, sanitation, housing, veterinary science, occupational health, dentistry and health promotion. Our membership spans public service and the academic, voluntary and private sectors.
     
  • The Coalition for Public Health Action is working together on recommendations for improving public health, and these will be focusing on:
    • improving the environment and the conditions in which people live and work
    • narrowing the widening health gap between rich and poor
    • reducing the use of, and exposure to, tobacco
    • enabling everyone to have access to a healthy diet
    • encouraging moderation in the consumption of alcohol
    • increasing life style options that will enable individuals to improve their own and their families’ health
    • recognising that good health is not only the absence of disease but is also the quality of life, and taking account of people’s perceptions of this
    • ensuring that policy developments in all sectors take account of their impact on health
    • ensuring that policy developments in all sectors take account of environmental sustainability
    • setting agreed, auditable and enforceable health targets, in a way which ensures a joint and committed approach across agencies and professions
    • investing in infrastructure services to ensure they can meet the future needs of a growing population

Press enquiries to:
Angela Mawle
Chief Executive
UK Public Health Association
7th Floor. Holborn House
330 High Holborn
London WC1V 7BA

Tel: 0870 010 1930
Mobile: 07747 475 206
Email: angela@ukpha.org.uk

16 November 2004

Lord Soulsby is new President of RIPH

Lord Soulsby of Swaffham Prior took office as President of the Royal Institute of Public Health on 15 July 2004.

A distinguished parasitologist and microbiologist, Lord Soulsby is Past President of the Royal Society of Medicine, Past President of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and is Emeritus Fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge. Lord Soulsby is author or co-author of 14 books and numerous articles published in scientific journals. He is an expert adviser to the UK Government on animal welfare, science and technology, biotechnology and environmental issues.

Speaking at the Royal Institute's Annual General Meeting in July, Lord Soulsby paid tribute to outgoing President, Sir Donald Acheson, and said he was looking forward to participating in pushing public health forward and working with the officers and members of the Royal Institute of Public Health to tackle some of today's major public health issues.

A Handbook of Anatomical Pathology Technology - new for 2004

A new publication covering the practical elements of the day to day management of the mortuary and the role of the Anatomical Pathology Technologist is now available from the Royal Institute of Public Health.

Published in February 2004, a Handbook of Anatomical Pathology Technology is the only guide of its type. It includes a substantial section on the autopsy technique itself, as well as health and safety in the mortuary, infectious diseases, retention of tissues and organs, and the handling of radioactive bodies.

It is an essential reference source for all Anatomical Pathology Technicians as well as trainee pathologists, lawyers and staff who work within the mortuary, and supports Royal Institute of Public Health qualifications in anatomical pathology technology.

Priced at £15 per copy (inclusive of UK postage and packing), A Handbook of Anatomical Pathology Technology can be ordered direct from the RIPH.


Notes:

A Handbook of Anatomical Pathology Technology
(ISBN 1 901660117)
Editor: R A Burnett, MBChB, FRCP, FRIPH, FRCPath
Foreword: Professor Sir Kenneth Calman, former Chief Medical Officer,
England, and Vice-Chancellor and Warden, University of Durham

Published by the Royal Institute of Public Health
Cost £15.00 per copy (inc UK p&p)

Order forms for A Handbook of Anatomical Pathology Technology are available to download at: http://www.riph.org.uk/anatomicalpathology_frm.html


Food Standards Agency Chairman, Sir John Krebs, gives RIPH Harben Lecture

1 October 2003

"The food we eat is fundamental to public health" Food Standards Agency Chairman Sir John Krebs told delegates at the Royal Institute of Public Health in London in October. "No one group has responsibility for food safety. Everyone, form the farmer to the consumer at home has a part to play."

Sir John Krebs presented the 2003 Royal Institute 'Harben Lecture' in which he reviewed the work of the Food Standards Agency in its first three and a half years and outlined its plans for the future. He spoke of the shared aims of the Royal Institute and the FSA to protect public health in relation to diet and nutritional issues, including the dramatic increase in obesity which now affects about 8 million adults and over 1 million children in the UK and outlined the Faso's initiatives to promote healthy eating, such as reducing slat intake to target levels of 6g per day for adults. Food-born illness affects 1.3 million people in the UK each year and results in approximately 500 deaths. Sir John Krebs described the FSA's strategy to reduce incidents of food-borne illness by 20% by 2006. Schemes to reduce the prevalence of bacteria in livestock and poultry, which cause food-borne illness, should be encouraged and supported, he argued. However, no matter how well managed, meat will never be completely free from bacteria. So it is extremely important to ensure that food handlers are trained to effectively manage the risks and that enforcement and legislation are used in conjunction with education. Sir John Krebs emphasised the importance of improving the skills base of workers in the food industry through appropriate education and the importance of encouraging the public to protect itself through common sense good hygiene.

Sir Hon Kreb's lecture is available at: www.food.gov.uk/aboutus/ourboard/boardmem/johnkrebs/riph



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