Newsbrief
June 2007

Society News

Health News

Food Safety &
Nutrition

Events

Consultations

SOCIETY NEWS (3 items) 

1. SENIOR FIGURES SPEAK AT SOCIETY AGM
This year's Annual General Meeting and Awards Ceremony will bring together an unprecedented bill of guest speakers.  Members and guests will be addressed by Professor Sir David King (Chief Scientific Advisor to the Government), Dr Fiona Adshead (Director General for Health Improvement), the Rt Hon Kevin Barron MP (Chair of the Health Select Committee), Sir Liam Donaldson (Chief Medical Officer for England) and renowned nutritionist and journalist Amanda Ursell.  This year's AGM and Awards Ceremony will take place on Wednesday 18 July, at Thistle Victoria Hotel, London.  Contact the AGM Coordinator at RSH House if you would like to attend.

2. RSH – Sanofi Pasteur Joint Working
The Royal Society of Health and Sanofi Pasteur have entered into a joint working agreement this month following a series of talks. The Royal Society of Health, a leading public health multi-disciplinary membership organisation, and Sanofi Pasteur MSD, a company dedicated exclusively to vaccines, are aiming to demonstrate the public benefit of joint working between the public health sector and the pharmaceutical industry. Advances in technology indicate a potentially dramatic increase in vaccination and immunization’s role in public health. Development of a human papilloma virus (HPV) education programme will be at the heart of the cooperative action, aiming to raise public and political understanding about HPV and the current and potential role of HPV vaccination and other methods of prevention. High risk HPV type 16 and 18 together cause 70% of cervical cancer, which kills approximately 1,100 women per year in the UK.  Despite this fact, public awareness of HPV remains very low.  For more information on HPV see Sanofi Pastuer's public infomation site Tell Her.

3. Forum MeetS Teaching Public Health Network
The NGO Forum will be meeting with the London Teaching Public Health Network (LTPHN) on 18 June to gain a shared understanding of public health learning and training needs, and barriers to meeting these needs in the diverse NGO Sector in London. They will explore possible collaborative approaches between LTPHN and members of the NGO Forum to meeting some of the needs identified. LTPHN is one of nine recently established, DH-supported regional Teaching Networks, and is coordinated by Dr Fiona Sim. The Network comprises members from Higher and Further Education, the NHS, local government, professional bodies and the voluntary sector. The London TPHN has engagement with the Third Sector as its special focus and with preparedness for 2012 as a major theme.  For more information contact Karen Bollan.
 

HEALTH NEWS (2 Items)

1.  CLINTON BILL FOR FRESH FOOD
A bill seeking to improve access to fresh fruit and vegetables in disadvantaged areas has been introduced to the US Senate by 2008 Presidential hopeful Hilary Clinton in cooperation with Senator Sherrod Brown.  The bill proposes to provide financial and technical support for farmers selling food directly to local communities through farmers' markets and stalls, and community institutions such as schools.  The bill is known by the convenient acronym FOOD (Food Outreach and Opportunity Development).  Click here for more.

2. NUFFIELD'S INDEPENDENT NHS
Health think-tank the Nuffield Trust have published a blueprint for an independent NHS.  The report, written by Brian Edwards, Emeritus Professor of Healthcare Development at the University of Sheffield, proposes that operational control of health services should be handed to an independent corporation, much as public service broadcasting is with the BBC.  The publication of the report has been timed to influence in-coming Prime Minister Gordon Brown.  The report, 'An Independent NHS: a review of the options', can be downloaded here.

 FOOD SAFETY & NUTRITION (1 item)

1.  EU TABLES PLAN TO TACKLE OBESITY
The European Commission has adopted a White Paper setting out a range of proposals on tackling nutrition, overweight and obesity related health issues. The White Paper stresses the importance of enabling consumers to make informed choices, ensuring that healthy options are available, and calls upon the food industry to work on reformulating recipes, in particular to reduce levels of salt and fats. Stressing the benefit of physical activity and encouraging Europeans to exercise more is another area to develop. Though the White Paper only lays out voluntary guidelines for industry, The Society welcomes the recognition that industry has a responsible role to play in managing obesity and overweight, and stresses that resources are needed to enable  children and parents to turn dietary knowledge into a plate of healthy food. The prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased sharply during the last two decades. In the majority of Member States more than 50% of the adult population is overweight or obese. Furthermore, it is estimated that 21,748,312 million children are overweight in the EU with this figure growing by 400,000 each year.  For more information, click here.
 

EVENTS (4 items)

The Allergy Show
15-17 June 2007, Olympia, London, UK
The Allergy show is for people with food allergies and intolerance, sensitive skin, eczema, asthma, hayfever and the health professionals who treat them. Visit the exhibition website for more information or to book tickets.

Faculty of Public Health Annual Conference
26-28 June 2007, Devonshire Park Centre, Eastbourne, UK
This year’s Faculty conference takes the theme ‘Making Public Health Work’ and is expected to attract 400 public health professionals from across the UK and abroad.  The broad scope of the conference programme will cover health improvement, health protection and service improvement.  The conference will also feature the RSH’s annual lecture, which is being delivered this year by Sir David King, the Government’s chief scientific adviser.  For more information and to register, please visit the conference website.

Managing Care Homes for the Elderly: Essential legal, policy and practice update
27 June 2007, Church House, London, UK
This one-day conference has been organised by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) and specially tailored for care home professionals.  Attendees will be given updates on policy developments and new legislation, such as the imminent smoking ban, and given a general overview of how to raise and maintain food safety and health and safety standards within care homes.  Issues to be covered include nutrition, partnership working, home inspections and diabetes care, and key speakers from organisations such as Help the Aged, the Food Standards Agency and the National Care Association are already confirmed.  Please click here for more information.


Please visit rsph.org for more events listings

CONSULTATIONS

For the latest consultations visit our website here.