Public Health Dorset
In a unique position working across the county’s two unitary councils, Dorset Council and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council, at Public Health Dorset we work across a large and diverse area, from urban conurbations to seaside towns and rural villages. Understanding and balancing the needs, interests and priorities for two neighbouring but distinct local authorities is key for us as a team. Dorset Council and BCP Council were formed in 2019 during a reorganisation of local government which brought together the previous district, borough and county councils into two new unitary authorities.
If you train in Dorset you’ll have the chance to work on interesting projects to make a real difference to improving the health of people across this wide range of communities. Dorset is a fantastic place to live, work and study with miles of world-renowned coastline, beautiful countryside and excellent facilities in towns and villages across the county.
About the area
The county of Dorset sits on the south coast of England, bordering Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire and Hampshire. The county has a population of over 775,000, with almost 380,000 people in the Dorset Council area and just under 400,000 people in the BCP Council area.
Across both Dorset and BCP there is a higher proportion of residents aged 65+ when compared to national figures, which contributes to high demand on health and care services. There is also a smaller proportion of the population from non-white ethnicity groups than nationally (4% compared to around 15% nationally in 2011 census). In Dorset life expectancy from birth is not significantly different from the national average for both males and females. Life expectancy at birth in BCP however is significantly higher than that of England for both males and females.
The county ranges across a wide variety of locations from the Jurassic coast to rural villages to towns such and Bournemouth and Poole. On average, BCP has a similar degree of deprivation to the South West average and Dorset has lower levels of deprivation, but there is a wide range in levels of deprivation throughout the area. Both councils are home to areas amongst both the highest and lowest levels of deprivation in the country.
Find out more about the Dorset Council and BCP Council areas.
Key public health challenges in the area
- Hospital admissions due to self-harm are higher than national figures. Mental health is a key focus for us as a system, and we lead a multi-agency suicide prevention group in partnership with public and voluntary sector partners.
- In the BCP area, there are higher rates of deaths from drug misuse than nationally, and higher numbers of hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions. We work with partners to commission drug and alcohol services to support people living with drug and alcohol addictions.
- Due to the older population within Dorset and BCP care must be taken when looking at many age-related conditions. Both areas perform better than nationally in many indicators related to aging, but the age demographic of Dorset’s population means public health interventions have a key role to play in reducing pressure on health and care services.
- Whilst not worse than national rates, levels of obesity are a concern across both Dorset and BCP. Promoting healthier lifestyles is a key part of our work, with our LiveWell Dorset service providing direct support to residents who want to make lifestyle changes to improve their health.
Our Joint Strategic Needs Assessment narratives explain more about the health and wellbeing issues faced by our communities.
Our team
Our work spans four main areas: health improvement, health protection, healthcare public health and healthy places. Our approach is evidence-based to make sure we are focusing on the areas where we can make the biggest difference in reducing health inequalities.
As a shared service for Dorset Council and BCP Council, we cover the whole of the county of Dorset. The Director of Public Health is supported by a team consisting a Deputy Director, consultants, heads of programmes, health programme advisors and communications and business support officers.
We commission a range of public health services as well as running an in-house behaviour change service called LiveWell Dorset which provides direct support to residents wanting to make healthy lifestyle changes.
Partnership working
Much of our work relies on our excellent relationships with our partners and we are at the heart of the development of the new Integrated Care System for Dorset.
To achieve our aims we work closely with services across both councils, NHS Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group and the three NHS trusts in Dorset, as well as wider public sector and voluntary and community sector partners and regional leads from UK Health Security Agency, NHS England and OHID.
There are two hospital trusts within the area - Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust – as well as Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust which provides community and mental health services.
Public Health Dorset as a training location
Public Health Dorset is a well established and highly regarded training location for Public Health. We currently have placements for StRs from both the Wessex and South West Training programmes.
We have six members of the senior team who are experienced Educational Supervisors who can support you through your time with us and a number of colleagues who are Activity supervisors.
We are a team who actively promote training, learning and development in Public Health so we also have a number of placement students, GP fellows, NHS management trainees and Public health practitioners.
Location
We use a hybrid working model, meaning most of our team split their time between home and office working.
Our main office base is at County Hall in Dorchester alongside other Dorset Council teams, and we have desk space with BCP Council at Bournemouth Town Hall. We are fully supportive of a flexible working approach.
Key contacts
For further information, please contact:
Rachel Partridge, Deputy Director of Public Health (01305 225880)
This page was last updated in March 2022