Dr Anjan Ghosh on the role of a DPH

Ever since I became a DPH in 2017, not a day goes by when I do not feel privileged about the position I hold, currently as DPH for Kent. It isn’t easy being a DPH but feeling that I can make a real difference to the lives of residents in Kent is what gets me out of bed each day. It is what keeps me up at night as well – seeing just how difficult people’s lives have become following the pandemic, its long tail of consequences, the cost of living crisis and the impacts of inflation over the last 18 months.

I lived most of my formative years and young adulthood in India. Training as a doctor there, I witnessed poverty and inequalities on a scale and extent inconceivable in the UK. This lit a fire in my being around social justice, fairness and equality. I came to the UK to train as a surgeon. Whilst preparing for that, I worked on young people’s sexual health in the Public Health Team of the erstwhile NHS Redbridge and Waltham Forest Primary Care Trust,. This opened my eyes to the incredible public health system that exists in the UK, and I decided to switch my ambitions to becoming a Public Health Consultant. I had found my calling, and it was in Public Health.

Having qualified as a consultant in 2013, I came to realise I wanted more agency in the leadership and decision-making around public health – and therefore wanted to become a DPH sooner rather than later.

Reflecting back at time as DPH, I see the role as that of a “boundary spanner” and “agenda setter”, among other things. My role and the role of Public Health in a nutshell is to assess and understand the health needs of my patch, and on that basis, to improve health and wellbeing outcomes and reduce health inequalities for all residents. But it isn’t that simple, is it? This requires a number of things to come together in one place – from data and evidence, to an appreciation of the political, financial and operational environment we work in, to being an unapologetic opportunist in spotting where PH can add value and impact, to the values, ethics and principles we hold dear as a public health professional group. And this doesn’t even begin to cover the complexity DsPH operate in. To me that makes the role truly exciting and stimulating – as there are no established blue-prints for how we can get things done – we have to be present, think on our feet, have the courage of conviction and the ability to speak truth to power.

I am particularly proud of the Kent and Medway Integrated Care Strategy that we developed alongside ICB and Medway colleagues – and the action plans that are developing at pace in Kent. This strategy is the foundation for all the work we plan to do over the next five years to tackle the intractable challenges that impact on health and wellbeing.

We are all in a privileged position in terms of the knowledge and resources we hold, the legal and soft powers we have, and the incredible wealth of talented staff we employ. Each of us in our roles have a collective responsibility to maximise the impact of our resources, share best practice, and promote the interventions and programmes in place to encourage residents to take advantage of the support and advice available.

This role also presents unique opportunities to nurture the talent of others and support the professional development of staff and colleagues. I am part of an incredible circle of DsPH mentors in the ADPH Mentoring Programme – something I greatly benefited from when I was a freshly minted DPH.

Ultimately, we are all change-makers and I feel really proud to be a part of this fraternity of Directors of Public Health.