Principles of Health Protection 2024
CPD Course (online)
Next iteration due Sept 2024 - dates to be announced soon
The arrival of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic strain of the Coronavirus has highlighted the importance of emergency preparedness, forward planning, and robust outbreak management systems and infrastructure. The importance of the normally, not in the news, Communicable Disease Control expertise and collaborative working with Public Health and other interrelated agencies has come to the forefront. Prevention is the best way forward and this is what we should excel at.
Internationally, our course will demonstrate the importance of infectious disease epidemiology, the planning to prevent outbreaks and horizon scanning for rising threats, which, if they were to occur, would devastate a country and its people. Preparedness planning pays and being knowledgeable about the communicable and non communicable incidents and outbreaks will serve leaders in this domain well.
About the course
The course will give participants a grounding in the core principles of health protection and is a useful building block towards achieving competency in health protection on call. The content will cover all the Faculty of Public Health competencies, including part of the syllabus for the DFPH (Diplomate exam) and will serve as a refresher and a primer for new practitioners (Consultant to Health Protection Practitioners).
Course Lead
Dr Bharat Pankhania, Senior Clinical Lecturer, University of Exeter Medical School with contributions from expert guest speakers.
Virtual delivery dates
27th February, 29th February, 5th March, 7th March, 12th March,14th March 2024.
12:20 until 16:30 UK time
Delivery Format
This six day course will be delivered virtually on 27th February, 29th February, 5th March, 7th March, 12th March,14th March 2024.
The sessions will use a combination of participatory methodologies including presentations, case studies, table top exercises, group discussions and problem-based learning with ample opportunities for discussion, debate and blue sky thinking.
The course will include approximately 28 taught hours plus self-directed study. We advise you to make every effort to join all sessions to gain the most out of the course. If you are unable to attend any of the sessions, do not worry, the sessions will be recorded and will be made available.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course the learner will be expected to be able to:
- Understand the underlying principles of Health Protection and Communicable Disease Control as well as planning for and responding to emerging threats, emerging infections and environmental incidents
- Understand the art and craft of outbreak control and management and its application in a public health setting
- Become conversant with the fundamentals of dynamic surveillance and timely interventions
- Understand the principles of immunisation and instituting immunisation programmes
- Use worked examples of collaborative working and communication skills
- Understand the importance of collaboration with partners and communicating risks
- Become part of a community of practitioners from a range of sectors
Feedback and Certificates
We will ask you to complete a polling survey at the end of each day. Your feedback will allow us to make adjustments for the next delivery session.
At the end of the course, we will send you a certificate highlighting the learning outcomes with a section where you can complete your own CPD Reflection of the course, which you can use in a future professional development review
Useful for those already working in or considering working in public health, health protection, infection control, environmental health, infections with an animal and human interface, and primary care.
Programme for Principles of Health Protection CPD Course
Each day will run from 12:30-16:30
Please note that the programme may be subject to minor alterations.
|
DAY NO. |
DAY |
DATE |
SUBJECT |
SPEAKER |
|
1 |
Tuesday |
27th February |
Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases, Systems Processes and Principles of Control |
Dr Bharat Pankhania |
|
2 |
Thursday |
29th February |
Understanding Pandemics and Principles of Management |
Dr Bharat Pankhania |
|
|
|
|
Managing Incidents and Outbreaks, How to Masterfully Investigate and Control Events |
Dr Smita Kapadia |
|
3 |
Tuesday |
5th March |
Principles and Practices of Vaccines and Immunology. |
Dr Bharat Pankhania |
|
|
|
|
How Vaccine Policy is Implemented Good Sexual Health, Infections and Management. (STI's, HIV, Others and their Management) |
Dr Bret Palmer |
|
|
|
|
|
Dr Kev Smith |
|
4 |
Thursday |
7th March |
Emerging Threats - Farm to Fork and Climate Change |
Dr Smita Kapadia |
|
|
|
|
Infection Control in Clinical Settings, Antibiotics and Threats from Antimicrobial Resistance |
Dr Bharat Pankhania |
|
5 |
Tuesday |
12th March |
Emergency Preparedness Planning, Exercise Planning and Horizon Scanning |
Dr Bharat Pankhania |
|
|
|
|
|
Lee Bates |
|
6 |
Thursday |
14th March |
Water-born Infections, Legionella + Others |
Dr Cathy Whapham |
|
|
|
|
Threats from Global Warming and Climate Change |
TBC |
|
|
|
|
Course Summary |
Bharat Pankhania |
Whether you study on-campus, virtually, or via a blended learning programme, you'll be supported by the University of Exeter's world-class faculty with wide-ranging opportunities to develop interdisciplinary and vocational skills. Find out more
Speakers
Dr Bharat Pankhania
Dr Bharat Pankhania has widespread experience of advising on national communicable disease control action plans at national and international level. Having had experience of both Primary and Secondary Care, Dr Pankhania realised that to make a bigger contribution to people`s health, primary prevention of illness was important, thus he trained in Public Health Medicine and thereafter did further training in infectious diseases and Communicable Disease Control.
Dr Pankhania’s experience includes:
Pandemic Influenza outbreak planning and major plan testing exercises. He was the local Lead for Pandemic Influenza planning at Public Health England and became the reference point for outbreak planning, testing systems and control strategies.
Ebola and SARS: Dr Pankhania was immersed in and contributed to the Ebola and SARS surveillance and control methodologies, specialist screening methods at ports of entry.
Tuberculosis: Dr Pankhania became an expert in investigating clusters of Tuberculosis and using newly developed tools. Investigations and controlling TB outbreaks in schools, hospitals and prisons.
Legionella: Dr Pankhania has led on and was the Legionella lead in his previous job. He investigated complex outbreaks, advised hospitals and hotels and also developed expertise in the health and safety law relating to Legionella.
Dr Kev Smith
Dr Kev Smith is Regional Director Public Health Commissioning for NHS England, North East and Yorkshire. He has been the principal advisor to the NHS in the region throughout the height of the COVID pandemic advising the NHS Executive team and system leaders on the likely impact on NHS services.
Dr Bret Palmer
Upon leaving secondary school, Bret worked in the civil service and eventually took himself to Leeds University. After leaving with a master’s degree in chemistry, he then gained entry into Bart’s and The London Medical School, an enjoyable time with a memorable stint with the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, as part of his medical elective. After qualifying as a medical doctor, he then worked in hospital-based medicine for 4 years, mainly working in emergency medicine and care of the elderly.
His hospital experience reinforced the maxim of ‘prevention is better than cure’. Most of the cases he dealt with, especially in emergency medicine, were wholly preventable. The most surprising aspect was that most of these cases had no idea of the basic life changes they needed to make in order to improve their health for the long term. During training as a specialist public health doctor, he studied a Master’s in Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and gained by CCT in Public Health in 2016. He then decided that in order to do front line public health work, he'd step back to do Genitourinary medicine (GUM) training. I CCT in GUM and HIV medicine in 2020.
Contact us
if you have any other enquiries about the course, please e-mail us.
Blog: Empowering health protection practitioners to deliver excellence
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