Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) 

FPH thanks all of our members for their dedication to protecting the health of the public in this most challenging of circumstances. Many of our members will be working in pressurised conditions and we thank them for all they are doing.

FPH is in regular discussion with the Chief Medical Officers, the four national Public Health Agencies, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, DHSC and other key stakeholders regarding management of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).

FPH updates on COVID-19

FPH Membership Wellbeing Survey: Report published

Recognising the pressures faced by our membership in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, FPH launched a Membership Wellbeing Survey in April 2021.

The survey received 784 responses, with a full report of the findings available to read online here, and a BMJ article on the survey available here. The report will be made available to employers to help them better support the health and wellbeing of the public health workforce.

FPH thanks all respondents as well as Ana-Catarina Pinho-Gomes NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow in Public Health at King's College London, and Chair of our Specialty Registrars' Committee Alex Allen for their leadership on this work.

Functions and Standards of a Public Health System

This document draws together a range of different papers that the Faculty of Public Health has produced in recent years to describe the essential functions of a public health system, and the standards and contribution of the specialist public health workforce that are crucial to a robust UK public health structure.

Guiding Principles for Effective Management of COVID-19 at a Local Level

This document is intended to outline principles for the design of COVID-19 Local Outbreak Plans led by the Director of Public Health at Upper Tier Local Authority level, working with all key professions and sectors, with outline responsibilities for each defined.

Covid-19 law briefings for health professionals

FPH, in collaboration with legal scholars at the University of Bristol, Cardiff and Edinburgh, and Queen’s University Belfast, has published a set of briefings for health professionals on laws, regulations and guidance on the Covid-19 pandemic for each of the four Nations in the UK.

Information on other areas of FPH business

At the start of the pandemic, the Faculty agreed to move all exams to an online environment; since then, Faculty Officers, examiners, working groups and staff have worked to transfer the two FPH exams to a remote delivery format.

The Faculty’s first ever online Diplomate exam was successfully held on 3-4 November 2020, whilst the first online Final Membership exam was successfully delivered on 18 November. Since then we have continued to refine and develop the online operation of the exams and further sittings have been successfully held. All Faculty exams will be held online for the duration of 2021. 

Ensuring registrars can progress through training is of paramount importance to the Faculty, and we thank all those who have contributed to making the delivery of online examinations such a success.

Further information on the exams is available here.

FPH has suspended its usual requirements for CPD for the period April 2019 to March 2022 to allow members to focus on tackling COVID-19. Members will remain in good standing for CPD and can continue to use the online CPD diary and make submissions when they are able to. Further information is available on the CPD homepage and if you need to get in contact with us regarding your CPD you can do so via cpd@fph.org.uk.

The Faculty continues to work for its members although, like most organisations, staff are now working remotely.

All staff can be contacted by phone and email and are still connected and working as hard as ever to support members to deliver their vital work.

As the phone networks can be overloaded at this time, we recommend email as the most reliable way to get in touch.

Contact details for different areas of FPH work are available here.

  • UKPHR have decided that the requirement to undertake an annual professional appraisal is suspended until March 2021 (extended from September 2020). Appraisals due to be completed during these months will count as “approved missed appraisals”.

  • The GMC has recently stated that all doctors due to revalidate before March 2021 (extended from September 2020) will have their revalidation deferred for one year and UKPHR have stated that they will do the same.  This means that revalidation dates falling within the period April 2020 to March 2021 will be put back by one year.

  • UKPHR stand with the Faculty of Public Health in granting extensions from CPD requirements for the duration of COVID-19 operations.

  • The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges has published a helpful set of FAQs relating to Appraisal and Revalidation during COVID-19.

  • The GMC is writing to doctors who have left the Register in the last three years to offer them temporary registration, as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. UKPHR is introducing its own emergency rule to allow the Registrar to do the same for retired public health professionals. UKPHR are emailing former registrants who may be affected. FPH supports these measures.

  • Returning NHS healthcare professionals can access more information and apply to help in efforts against COVID-19 online via NHS England.

  • You can read UKPHR's full update regarding COVID-19 online here.

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FPH's Public Mental Health Special Interest Group has listed these resources to offer guidance on COVID-19 and mental health.

The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges has issued these resources on mental health and wellbeing for healthcare professionals, recognising that at this time it is vital for healthcare professionals to prioritise their own wellbeing in order to provide outstanding care for others.

The National School of Healthcare Science has also published a page of resources dedicated to staff health and wellbeing.  

The Faculty has been happy to support the July 2020 statement from the AoMRC and partners on supporting the health and care workforce into the next phase of the pandemic. You can view other information from the AoMRC on COVID-19 here.

COVID-19: View from membership

We recognise that as our members at the forefront of tackling this pandemic, you will have invaluable feedback on the UK's response to COVID-19.

We are keen to gather your evidence and concerns which we will store and review in collaboration with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and the BMA's Public Health Medicine Committee at an appropriate time after the pandemic has passed.

You can use this form to submit your feedback.

The Faculty of Public Health is providing this repository for information for members only – please do not attempt to upload data if you are not a current member of FPH.

Thank you...

FPH urge kindness and respect for colleagues across Public Health, Health and Social Care, other partner agencies and across all of civil society. We are now all working towards the same goal of saving lives and protecting the health of the public, and we must be unified in this vital work.

Thank you once again to our members, the UK's public health workforce, who are delivering such important work in such challenging conditions across the four nations and overseas.

 

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