The Emergency Services SIG was established in 2023 to promote the advancement of knowledge in relation to the role of public health and the emergency services.
There has been a surge of interest in public health approaches in policing, the ambulance service, and the fire service, as an effective way to reduce crime and violence, prevent ill health, and increase health and wellbeing. The emergency services SIG will support FPH in its aims to act as an authoritative body for the purposes of consultation and advocacy, in matters both of educational and public interest, by acting as an expert resource in this area (for the FPH and its members); and by ensuring that public health develops with a view to maintaining the highest possible standards of professional competence and practice.
The emergency services SIG will support the FPH priorities around workforce, standards, knowledge, advocacy, and partnership.
The Emergency Services SIG exists to promote amongst our peers:
We will establish and strengthen knowledge of these areas, and facilitate networking within the SIG.
We will create a space for development and sharing of public health expertise related to work with the emergency services.
The Emergency Services SIG reports to the Health Services Committee (HSC) and is chaired by Rachel Forbes and Christina Downham.
FPH members can join this SIG by logging into their FPH members’ portal account, selecting the ‘Committees/SIGs’ button and choosing the correct SIG. You will then be asked to provide a few details, following which your application will be automatically approved. Further details on FPH membership are available here.
Activity: Within the SIG, we will strengthen knowledge of:
Outcome: Regular meetings of the SIG (bi-monthly)
Target date: Review June 2024
Named lead: Co-chairs
Progress to date: Our SIG has met three times since its formation in June 2023. Membership has grown to 21 members.
Activity: We will promote among our peers:
Outcome:
Target date: Review June 2024
Named lead: Christina Downham and Laura Parker
Progress to date:
The Emergency Services SIG hosted a well-attended webinar on 20 October 2023, with presentations from speakers discussing public health approaches in policing, fire, ambulance, and emergency medicine.
We are exploring hosting a Public Health in Emergency Services themed event during Global Public Health Week in April 2024, and will seek opportunities to collaborate with other SIGs for this event.
Activity: We will explore and provide opportunities for trainees.
Outcome:
Named lead: Clare Oliver- Williams
Progress to date:
We are working on creating a NATP which will formalise and make more equitable a placement that has existed with Linda Hindle in OHID since 2018, working on emergency services and public health.
We have also prepared for submission a FPH Project Brief for a registrar project exploring the current links between public health and each of the emergency services, nationally and locally. It will identify where links need to be strengthened and where the SIG can contribute.
Both the NATP and Registrar Project will be advertised to all registrars nationally and offer remote working, with the intention of making these opportunities accessible to a diverse audience of registrars.
This webinar explored how communities can be supported to become more resilient, enabling them to be better prepared in the face of emergencies, and the role of emergency services in this work. It discussed themes of violence, adverse weather events, and sustainability, and considered the win-win outcomes of resilience building.
This event was organised by the FPH Emergency Services and Sustainable Development SIGs and took place on 11 April 2024 as part of series of learning webinars during Global Public Health Week.
The term ‘social love’ describes the motivation and actions of a system, organisation, or institution (and people working within them), for the purpose of the collective good, increasing the wellbeing of another, self, community, and the environment. With a collective affective quality, it involves care, respect, commitment, knowledge, responsibility, and trust, valuing the other, self, community, and environment, and remaining open and receptive.
This event was jointly organised by the FPH Emergency Services SIG and the Global Law Enforcement and Public Health Association (GLEPHA). It took place on 8 April 2024 as part of series of learning webinars during Global Public Health Week.
FPH is the professional home for public health in the UK and abroad. We support over 5,000 members across all career stages enabling them to drive the profession forward and achieve our vision of improving public health.
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