National public health leaders learn more about health education in Cheshire

In an event organised by Professor Richard Parish CBE some of the UK’s leading figures in public health visited the University of Chester to meet students and discuss health initiatives in the region. 

Professor Dame Jenny Harries, Chief Executive of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and a Visiting Professor at the University of Chester, was joined by; Lord Kamlish Patel, Chair of Social Work England; Professor Andrew Dickenson, Chief Dental Officer for Wales; Professor Ian Ashworth, Director of Public Health, Cheshire West and Chester Council; Professor Helen Bromley, Consultant in Public Health, Cheshire West and Chester Council and Simon Whitehouse, Chief Executive Officer for Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care System.

Jenny met with students studying to become the health professionals of tomorrow at the University’s state-of-the-art Simulation Suite in its Wheeler Building. The Suite has been designed to provide connected clinical spaces to represent the journey a patient or service user would take when navigating the health and social care system. This includes patient simulators which are vital in enabling students to learn how to respond in a clinical situation in a safe way before they use their skills in practice. 

Jenny also met the team from the Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust’s Living Well mobile service which was at the University’s Exton Park site offering students and staff a range of drop-in services including health checks and advice; sexual health, mental health advice and stop smoking advice and support COVID-19 vaccination boosters.

Senior representatives from the University including Vice-Chancellor Professor Eunice Simmons; Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health and Social Care, Professor Angela Simpson and Professor Paul Kingston, Director of the Centre for Ageing and Mental Health. The University offers a wide range of programmes in health from Nursing and Midwifery through to Social Work and Public Health courses.

Professor Simmons said:

“We were very pleased indeed to welcome Professor Dame Jenny Harries and her esteemed colleagues to the University to meet some of our students and to see our facilities first-hand.  

“Professor Dame Harries has also become one of our Visiting Professors and we are thrilled she will be able to share her extensive knowledge of public health matters with our students.” 

Suzanne Edwards, Director of Operations and Deputy Chief Executive at Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“It was an honour to welcome Professor Dame Jenny Harries to our Living Well Service, as well as all of the students and staff at the University of Chester who visited during the day.

“The Living Well Service – launched in June 2022, following a successful pilot – is built on the principles of listening to seldom-heard communities and meeting their needs by bringing the right services to them. The service, delivered by Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, is the first of its kind nationally, offering a consistent health and care approach to all communities across Cheshire and Merseyside.

“If you would like to learn more about the Living Well Service please visit: www.cwp.nhs.uk/livingwellservice