The Public Health service is responsible for protecting the health of patients and the general public. This includes responsibility for infection control, immunisation and the investigation and management of outbreaks of diseases such as meningitis and E-coli. We focus on the health and well-being of the people of Fife, including protecting people from becoming ill.

The core values of Public health practice are that it should be equitable, empowering, effective, evidence-based, fair and inclusive.

The six priorities for Scotland

The Scottish Government and COSLA, working with a range of partners and stakeholders, have engaged widely across Scotland to develop a set of priorities for the whole system.

The agreed priorities reflect the issues we believe are most important to focus on over the next decade if we are to improve the health of the nation. The priorities are a foundation for the systemic change needed to achieve real and tangible improvements in the nation’s health and are intended to provide a focus for our collective efforts.

The six priorities are:

  1. A Scotland where we live in vibrant, healthy and safe places and communities.
  2. A Scotland where we flourish in our early years.
  3. A Scotland where we have good mental wellbeing.
  4. A Scotland where we reduce the use of and harm from alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.
  5. A Scotland where we have a sustainable, inclusive economy with equality of outcomes for all.
  6. A Scotland where we eat well, have a healthy weight and are physically active.

To learn more, read the Public Health Priorities for Scotland report.

Nine key areas of public health

In light of the core values and the three domains of public health practice, nine key areas for public health practice have been agreed which form the basis of all standards of training and practice that the Faculty develops.

The nine key areas are:

  1. Surveillance and assessment of the population’s health and wellbeing
  2. Assessing the evidence of effectiveness of health and healthcare interventions, programmes and services
  3. Policy and strategy development and implementation
  4. Strategic leadership and collaborative working for health
  5. Health Improvement
  6. Health Protection
  7. Health and Social Service Quality
  8. Public Health Intelligence
  9. Academic Public Health