What is Public Health England and why is Matt Hancock scrapping it?
PUBLIC Health England will be axed over its poor handling of the coronavirus pandemic with Matt Hancock expected to replace the quango with a new body after a string of failures.
The Health Secretary is set to give a speech today about the 'future of public health' and speculation is mounting that Mr Hancock plans to scrap Public Health England (PHE) following the body's handling of the pandemic.
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What is Public Health England?
Public Health England is a body that exists to protect and improve the nation's health and wellbeing, and reduce health inequalities.
It is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care but has operational autonomy and its own chief executive, Duncan Selbie.
It was established in April 2013, bringing together health specialists from more than 70 organisations into a single body.
Over 5,000 staff, mainly scientists, researchers and public health professionals are employed by PHE.
It has eight local centres across England's regions, with one in London.
What do PHE do?
The body provides government, local government, the NHS, parliament, industry and the public with evidence-based professional, scientific expertise and support.
PHE are responsible for protecting the nation from public health hazards as well as preparing for and responding to public health emergencies.
The agency aims to improve the health of the whole population by sharing their expertise as well as identifying and preparing for future public health challenges.
PHE manages a range of campaigns that pharmacies are involved in such as the stop-smoking campaigns Stoptober and Quit Kits, and the Be Clear on Cancer early diagnosis campaign.
The body ensures that effective arrangements are in place nationally and locally to respond to health protection concerns, such as climate change.
PHE researches, collects and analyses data to improve our collective understanding of public health challenges, and they try to come up with answers to health problems.
Why is Matt Hancock scrapping it?
The Health Secretary has ordered a major shake-up following heavy criticism of PHE's failure to prepare for the spread of coronavirus with stocks of protective gear and testing equipment.
Officials have been accused of spending too much time lecturing the public on eating and drinking habits instead of preparing to protect against a looming pandemic.
Health officials in Whitehall are furious with PHE for counting all deaths from Covid-19, rather than those within the first 28 days of contracting the virus, as in Scotland.
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A merger of PHE with NHS Test and Trace will be announced - to form a new body called the National Institute for Health Protection.
It will be modelled on Germany's Robert Koch Institute, which used an independent agency to take control of the country's response to the pandemic.
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The chief executive of the new body will report directly to Mr Hancock and the government's chief scientific officer Sir Patrick Vallance.