The Public Health Directorate works closely with its partners in Acute and Primary Care, the Community Health Partnerships, and Councils across Forth Valley to reduce inequalities in health and improve the health of the population.

• To find out more about what Public Health is, please go to our About Us page.
• The Directorate of Public Health Summary Business Plan 2011-2012 (PDF 367kb)

Operational areas:

The Public Health Directorate operates its activities via key service areas. Please visit the following sections for more information:

Acute Health Services

The Public Health Directorate provides Clinical and Public Health input into maintaining, protecting and improving population health and relevant acute health services. Read more about the Acute Health Services work carried out by the Public Health Directorate.

Transexual and sex-change

Information can be found here on: Transgender, transexual, gender dysphoria and gender re-assignment; Lesbian Gay Bisexual.

Community Mental Health Profiles

Community mental health profiles for each of the three Council areas are provided here.

Child Health

The Public Health Directorate provides clinical public health advice; support and leadership to maintain, protect and improve children's health and child health services. Read more about the Child Health work carried out by NHS Forth Valley and partners.

Civil Contingencies

Planning for emergencies is an integral part of good business practice for any organisation.  Learn more about the local arrangements for civil protection in the NHS Forth Valley area.

Community and the Third Sector

Improving health requires partnership working. In addition to the NHS and Councils (forming part of the public sector), partners may include businesses (private sector) and not-for profit organisations (the third sector). Community and the Third Sector.

Health Improvement & Health Inequalities

There are a number of major strands of health improvement work undertaken by NHS Forth Valley and partners. This section emphasises the breadth of work and approaches undertaken. Read more about the work undertaken by NHS Forth Valley and partners.

Health Protection

The health protection function is to monitor and protect the public from communicable disease and environmental health risks, and minimise the impact of such risks on the population of Forth Valley. Read more about the work of the Health Protection Team.

Healthcare Associated Infection

Prevention of Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) is a major priority in NHS Forth Valley. Tackling HAI is a complex issue and involves surveillance, antimicrobial management, outbreak management, and evidence-based infection control practice. Read more about the work carried out by the Infection Control Team.

Oral & Dental Health

Dental public health is the speciality of dentistry that is primarily concerned with preventing oral disease, promoting oral health and improving the quality of life for whole populations. Read more about how this is achieved by the Public Health Directorate in collaboration with public and private organisations, communities and individuals.

Screening

Screening programmes are designed to detect early signs of disease in the population and then to provide a reliable method of referral for diagnostic testing and further treatment. Learn more about the nationally managed screening programmes available in NHS Forth Valley.

Managed Clinical / Care Networks (MCNs)

There are six local MCNs that help to co-ordinate, support and improve services across a range of long-term conditions.  These cover: blood borne virus/ sexual health, diabetes, heart disease, palliative care, neurological conditions (including stroke and acquired brain injury) and respiratory disease.

 Prison Health

The responsibility for healthcare transferred from the Scottish Prison Service to the NHS in November 2011. There is now a requirement for prisoners to have access to the same quality and appropriate range of healthcare services as those members of the public with similar needs. 

* Please note that the NHS Forth Valley Public Health Directorate takes no responsibility for the accuracy or quality of external websites linked to from this page. If you have a query, please contact the Public Health Directorate.