Transfer of public health service to Havering Council agreed
Cllr Steven Kelly - Credit: Archant
Responsibility for some health services, including smoking, children’s health and sexual health, will be transferred to Havering Council from Monday.
The shift from the NHS to the council was agreed by cabinet members on Wednesday at a meeting at the town hall.
It means the council will have a new duty to improve the health of local people and be responsible for providing public health advice to the Havering Clinical Commissioning Group, a new group that will allow GPs to shape health services.
The change includes a new director of public health, Dr Mary Black, who will lead the service, and the transfer of 14 staff from the primary care trust.
The new director will report directly to the chief executive of the council.
Cllr Steven Kelly, cabinet member for individuals, said at the meeting: “It is my intention that the public health of this borough gets better and better and better.
“It ends up relatively good that we will transfer 14 staff to us, which we are more than happy to welcome into the council.”
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The functions the council will be responsible for include health and check assessments for people aged 40 to 74; smoking cessation; the healthy child programme, and the child measurement programme.
