A passport to 'Public Health' success.

Abstract

the recent restructuring of the public health (pH) system in england, as part of a wider re-organisation of the healthcare system,1-3 has placed pH back into the heart of the community and local government, creating opportunities to align pH workforce needs within the wider landscape of workforce development and a new organisation, public Health england (pHe), whose mission is 'to protect and improve the nation's health and to address inequalities'. the pH community has been given an opportunity to work collaboratively across organisational and professional boundaries, breaking down silos and enabling new and innovative approaches to the pH problems facing our population. pHe is an executive Agency of the Department of Health and one of its key roles is to work in partnership with other local, regional and national organisations to strengthen the capacity and capability of the pH workforce, including the facilitation of career movement across the system, enabling employees to gain broad career experience in different sectors of employment, for example, local government, the voluntary sector and the healthcare sector.The ConCepT of A SkillS pASSporT for publiC heAlThthis pH system restructure has also complicated the professional and career landscape by introducing a panoply of different employers, such as the 152 Local Authorities across england and many organisations from the voluntary sector, each with their own employment structures, needs and priorities. During the consultation that led up to the restructure of the pH system, there was recognition of the need for a tool to help employees navigate and plan careers in, and across, this complex environment. the concept of a 'Skills passport' was proposed during the consultation process for the Department of Health's public Health Workforce Strategy, published in May 2013.1 the idea of a tool that could help pH workers to evidence their skills and navigate their careers was well received, but the detail of what the passport would do, and how it would work, revealed itself on closer examination to be a 'wicked problem'4 that could only be solved by a collaborative approach by as many interested stakeholders as possible.there was initial agreement that any 'passport' should be based on, and reflect, an existing pH development framework. underpinning development for a professional sector is agreement on the functions and roles at different levels of professional practice and the public Health Skills and Knowledge Framework (pHSKF)5 provides this for the pH workforce in the united Kingdom. First developed in 2008, this framework provides information on the professional knowledge and experience needed by pH workers at all levels, from those whose roles have some aspects of pH practice to those working at the highest level with considerable knowledge, expertise and strategic input. these levels are broadly in line with the uK National Health Service 'Agenda for Change'6 grading structure, but are not an exact match. Many people whose pH activities are at a less expert level may themselves be qualified professionals in another career, for example, a teacher who wishes to understand and promote pH as part of their teaching duties.Any 'Skills passport' will only be useful (and used) if it meets the needs of its intended audience and with this as a guiding principle pHe engaged with a range of stakeholders, representing the views of the pH workforce, to determine what a useful passport might look like and what it might do, taking into account the wide range of potential users and their differing levels of skills and expertise and aligning with, but not duplicating, existing tools for professional development and evidencing skills.DeVelopinG The SkillS pASSporT wiTh The workforCe in MinDthe initial phase of passport development has focussed on establishing a reference group of representatives from a broad range of stakeholder organisations. We were able to obtain views and engage on the concept of a passport and its potential functions, in order to ensure that pHe and partners can develop an innovative tool that the pH workforce and employers will find genuinely useful and helpful. …