NHS Highland’s new director keen to work with communities
Improving health across the Highlands depends on everybody working together to make it happen.
That is the view of NHS Highland’s new director of public health, who has come north after 25 years working mostly in her native Wales and the south-east of England.
Jennifer Davies has been working as deputy director since February, but from the start of this month has stepped up to replace Dr Tim Allison, who has retired.
Speaking exclusively to The Inverness Courier as she gets to grips with her new remit she was clear that working in isolation was not the way forward as she welcomed the chance to work on improving health as far as possible across the board hand in hand with other agencies including Highland Council as part of the Highland health and social care partnership.
“I’ve been interested in what Scotland has been doing on health inequalities for some time,” she said. “There is some really great work being done…really interesting stuff around place-based work.
“You also have truly integrated systems here which is a huge step change from either other system (in England and Wales).
And she added: “I was inspired to move up to the north of Scotland because of the board’s commitment and vision for wanting to make a real difference and address health inequalities.
“This has been evident since I arrived in post as NHS Highland’s deputy director of public health in February, and I am looking forward to embracing the challenges ahead and collaborating with partners and our communities to play my part in making that vision a reality.”
Quick to understand the specific challenges of the north of Scotland she said the Highlands was not the only area where rurality throws up particular challenges but that “the scale here is of a different order.
She said: “That makes challenges for all sectors.
“I have the sense of a real community identity here, and community spirit, which I think is vital and that can be lost in more urban areas.
“I have seen the power of communities solving problems for themselves.
“It’s not for me the come and to say how things should be done; it’s for me to bring my skills, knowledge, experience of problem solving with others, and to work with communities to address their issues.”
Prior to joining NHS Highland, Jennifer was the acting executive director of public health at Swansea Bay Health Board in south Wales, where she also held the role of deputy director of public health from 2022.
She has also worked for Public Health Wales, and was head of public health and behavioural science at Bupa.
She spent a significant amount of her career working in Southampton and the south east of England, which included a variety of different senior public health specialist roles in the NHS, local authorities and academic sector.
Asked for one piece of health advice she could give that would make a real day to day difference to most people’s lives she immediately zeroed in on the importance of good mental health.
“Most people tend to consider physical health and are aware of the importance of being active, eating healthily, not drinking too much, but I don’t think people necessarily pay attention to their mental wellbeing and you do have to be on guard and looking after that (as well),” she said.
“We all go through periods of stress and anxiety, it’s part of life, and how you deal with that matters.”
In terms of how people might practically address that she said it could be as simple as spending more time with friends and family, working to create a better work-life balance - or even taking up yoga.
“Whatever helps you stay well mentally, you should protect that in some way,” she said.
