The profiles on this page give an insight into some of the varied roles that HPA staff undertake, giving a description of what employees do day to day, their experiences of working for the HPA and how the organisation itself works.

• Consultant - Local Health Protection Unit
• Regional Health Emergency Planning Adviser
• Senior Press Officer
• Head of Regional Environmental Health Team
• Health Protection Nurse
• Bioinformatician
• Head of Emergency Response

 

Consultant - Local Health Protection Unit

"Being a consultant in health protection means you're at the sharp end of events. Working at the local level with agencies such as primary care trusts, local authorities and environmental health officers, we tackle outbreaks such as meningitis, TB and food poisoning. Also in this area in particular, we do heaps with the nuclear industry - Sellafield is just down the road. So we're involved in exercises to test responses in case of an incident.

"I'm also about to be involved in an exercise testing response to the release of the chemical sulphur trioxide. In the real event I would be part of the team giving advice to the police (who are in charge of an incident) regarding issues such as whether people should be evacuated or told to take shelter at home. Our team would also give advice to casualty departments, NHS Direct and GPs. These exercises help to improve response in case of an event.

"I like the variety, both of the job and the people I work and deal with - I never know quite what's coming up. I was originally going to be a GP, but I just seemed to get interested in public health. When I started work in a hospital I met a specialist who was very helpful, and eventually I applied to train in public health. Between MMR, Sellafield and meningitis, there's been no looking back."

Regional Health Emergency Planning Adviser

"With threats of a Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) attack being in the news it's the Regional Health Emergency Planning Adviser's job to make sure both the HPA and NHS are as prepared as they can be. I recently started in this role after more than 30 years on the front line of the Ambulance Service and as a retained fire-fighter.

"My patch is large and covers Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Essex. I provide emergency planning advice to a huge audience, including the Regional Director of Public Health, Strategic Health Authorities and the wider NHS (hospitals and Primary Care Trusts). I'm responsible for ensuring that these organisations have satisfactory Major Incident Plans in place and that their staff are extensively trained to face whatever emergencies lie ahead. I also link extremely closely with the 'blue light' services, the military, local authorities and Resilience Groups to ensure that these groups co-ordinate their work.

"The challenges are many and varied, ranging from ensuring that effective arrangements are in place to deal with a major or catastrophic incident such as a CBRN attack to an infectious disease outbreak or problems associated with severe weather conditions. But the most challenging aspect of the job is trying to keep ahead of the game. We've yet to have a CBRN attack in the UK for example, but you never know what's around the next corner and when we might be called on to put our plans into action.

"It's been particularly rewarding seeing initiatives that we've piloted in the Eastern region come together, such as the Uncertain Threats course. This 3-day residential course has been designed to develop and equip health economy managers at silver/tactical level to effectively manage major/catastrophic incidents. I'm also proud of the excellent professional working relationships I've established with colleagues and partners from within the HPA and amongst the wider community."

Senior Press Officer

"The media and public's interest in health matters is at an all time high. Issues such as the MMR vaccine and increases in sexually transmitted infections dominate the papers. Consequently, making sure the right information is put out in the media is vital.

"The health issues we have to deal with and the nature of the media requests change from day to day. There are some things we plan. For example, sending a press release to the media on increases in rates of HIV/AIDS or MRSA. Because the work of the HPA is so respected and its figures trusted, it means our press releases usually generate a lot of media interest.

"As well as this proactive work, we do a lot of reactive work - responding to a news story that has broken. This can mean journalists call us for background information on the given subject or maybe the Agency's response. At its busiest, the team in Colindale deals with up to 200 calls a week.

"In addition to news stories, we're also called by journalists looking for advice on features, scripts or documentaries they might want to run for the papers, TV or radio. In cases where we think it has little substance or know it's been done before, we let journalists know and they appreciate that feedback.

"I like working with journalists and dealing with news, and the fact that everything is so fast-paced and constantly demanding. Also, I'm dealing with a subject area everyone is interested in and has an impact on everyone."

Head of Regional Environmental Health Team

"A large part of the team's work focuses on permit applications for Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPCC). These are permits which large potentially polluting industries need from the Environment Agency to be able to build and operate plants. When considering an application, we look at the source of various pollutants, the pathways by which these emissions may reach humans, and whether other receptors - such as drinking water or allotment gardens - might be exposed.

"We also investigate concerns such as disease clusters - where it's suspected that an object such as a phone mast or a landfill site is responsible for an increase in illnesses such as cancer. In 95% of cases, what people think is a cluster of disease in a given area actually reflects background incidence over quite a large area or is a misunderstanding altogether.

"But, if there is cause for concern I can direct it to the Chemical Hazards and Poisons Division, drawing on national resources to help address local issues. Being able to consult on a national - and also international - level is a vital asset as the health impact of environmental issues continues to grow in importance. I think the formation of a national agency for health protection is a great idea and I'm very optimistic about what the Agency can provide for the public."

Health Protection Nurse

"I am on secondment to the HPA, based with the Local and Regional Services division. My role involves advising the Agency on how to recognise and use the actual and potential skills of its nursing workforce.

"There are 161 nurses now working in the HPA across a range of issues and disciplines. They come from a wide variety of work and pay grading conditions. It quickly emerged that there's a need for some consistency for nurses across the HPA, whilst maintaining the unique roles they fulfil.

"My role involves articulating the various positions, clarifying any inconsistencies and working towards addressing these concerns. I've been working in this field for 11 years and have a first hand understanding of the issues that health protection nurses are facing. And, through my work as the Chair of the Community Infection Control Nurses Network, I've gained an enormous insight and experience in understanding how things work on a strategic level. I enjoy working to ensure the nursing contribution to the Agency is fully realised - for the benefit of both the organisation and the profession."

Bioinformatician

"Put simply, Bioinformatics is the development and application of software to analyse biological information. Trying to extract this information can be a bit like flicking through a telephone directory but using Bioinformatics, this text can be processed more efficiently. It's becoming increasingly important as the amount of information we have increases.

"It's also important because it enables scientists to make quicker analyses of newly emerging diseases, speeding up the process by which management of infections can be dealt with. And it's not just for investigating infectious diseases - Bioinformatics is also relevant to the study of radiological and chemical diseases.

"One example is where researchers try to identify and characterise bacteria. The team at Colindale has developed a programme where they take the sequence of an unknown organism and in one step, identify the bacteria closest to the unknown bacteria. It used to take many steps to arrive at this information. Now it's achieved in the click of one button. Bioinformatics is about taking the strain out of number crunching. The system gives lab scientists more time to do lab work since they have to spend less time designing their experiment at the beginning and analysing data at the end."

Head of Emergency Response

"The primary function of the ERD is to ensure that the HPA as a whole can respond effectively and efficiently in a co-ordinated way to any kind of emergency. We work in partnership with other organisations such as DH, NHS, blue light services and the intelligence community. Although CBRN threats provide new challenges and a significant proportion of our work is geared to this, we also have to encompass the everyday threats of outbreaks of disease and chemical incidents.

"I have to emphasise that we're not the 7th Cavalry, nor do we wear our underpants outside our trousers (like Superman). It's the Local and Regional Service Division and health service colleagues that have the expertise and vast experience of dealing with the sharp end of emergencies. Our role is to ensure that an infrastructure is in place that will provide a coherent and co-ordinated response together with appropriate specialist and strategic support, particularly for the larger scale or high profile emergency. Key to this is the provision of suitable training and exercising of emergency plans - in short our business is emergency preparedness.

"The work requires collaboration with all parts of the Agency and I believe this aspect of the work is very positive in building an effective multidisciplinary team. We need this multidisciplinary integrated approach - one of the reasons for the creation of HPA."