Workforce development is a key component of the Public Health Microbiology strategy and NHS Education for Scotland is working closely with members of the Scottish health Protection Network (SHPN) to support a progressive, integrated approach to workforce development and delivery of educational opportunities.
Public Health microbiology is a speciality which spans the fields of human, animal, food, water and environmental microbiology, with a focus on human health and disease. It requires laboratory scientists, epidemiologists, and clinicians to generate, integrate, analyse and communicate epidemic intelligence. Public Health microbiology supports the monitoring of known and emerging threats and facilitates the evaluation of effective interventions. (adapted from the ECDC consensus definition)’.
To progress this speciality the Scottish Health Protection Network (SHPN) has recently published a ‘Public Health Microbiology Strategy for Scotland’. This document sets out the context and steps needed to provide a Public Health Microbiology capacity and capability in line with the current ECDC strategy for all European Member States.
Workforce development is a key component of the strategy and NHS Education for Scotland is working closely with members of the SHPN to support a progressive, integrated approach to workforce development and delivery of educational opportunities.
Outline for workforce education and development for public health microbiology in Scotland
To support the national Public Health Microbiology strategy for Scotland, NHS Education for Scotland has worked in partnership with the Scottish Health Protection Network to develop an educational outline document for public health microbiology can be downloaded from here.
This Outline offers a basis from which the workforce that contributes to public health microbiology can develop local planning as part of wider workforce education and development planning for facilitating, delivering and evaluating educational activity for all staff and engage with nationally produced resources.
Further educational opportunities will be developed as this work progresses and stakeholders identify key priorities for support.
A recording of this webinar held on the 23rd of March 2022 can be accessed here
Guest Speaker:- Prof. Deborah Williamson
Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory (VIDRL) Professor of Public Health Microbiology and Dame Kate Campbell Fellow NHMRC Investigator Grant Fellow. The University of Melbourne. Australia
A recording of this webinar held on the 6th of April 2022 can be accessed here
Guest Speaker:- Dr Josefina Campos
Director of the National Centre of Genomics and Bioinformatics –ANLIS, which forms an integral part of the National Administration of laboratories and for Health Institutes. Argentina.
A recording of this webinar held on the 20th of April 2022 can be accessed here
Guest Speaker:- Dr Li Yang Hsu
Infectious Diseases Physician, Vice Dean of Global Health and Programme Leader of In-fectious Diseases at the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. Singapore.
A recording of this webinar held on the 18th of May 2022 can be accessed here
Guest Speaker:- Professor Mohamud Sheek-Hussein
Associate Professor Public Health Institute - College of Medicine & Health Science, UAE University. Abu Dhabi, UAE
A recording of this webinar held on the 9th of March 2022 can be accessed here
Topics covered during this recording:
Updates relating to WGS for TB and NTM
• Introduction to WGS
• Description of the process - how it works
• What this means for you, your patients and public health
• Next steps and future developments
Frequently asked questions during the webinar answered by a panel of experts.
A recording of this webinar held on the 23rd of June 2021 can be accessed here