Public Health is the science and art of promoting and protecting health and well-being, preventing ill-health and prolonging life through the organised efforts of society.
Our Vision: That all islanders will be supported to be as healthy as they can be.
Our Mission: To work effectively to protect, promote and improve the health and well-being of all islanders.
Long, healthy lives are the aspiration of most people.
Governments have a human rights duty to support all their citizens to strive to reach their health potential through healthy public policy. In addition, all of us also have a responsibility towards each other in our everyday lives.
Although Guernsey is one of the healthiest jurisdictions in the world, we can always improve as we work towards the aspiration of Guernsey being the healthiest jurisdiction on the planet. The factors that affect the health of the population are very wide, but can be considered under four inter-linked domains - Health Protection (e.g. infectious disease control, population screening, chemical and radiation hazards), Health Improvement (e.g. healthy lifestyles, tobacco control, alcohol, mental health), Health and Social Care Services (e.g. broken bones, heart attacks, safeguarding), and the wider determinants of health (e.g. education, housing, poverty).
The Public Health Services' focus aims to maintain and improve the health of the whole population through influencing all these factors. The States of Guernsey employs a small and dedicated team within the Public Health Services to lead on the health of the population. In many cases the services work through others, across Government, in the private and voluntary sector, through encouraging, influencing, and leading public health policy and strategy, as well as some of the frontline work we do, such as the delivery of sexual health and the States Analytical Service.
In addition to the strategic commitments, Public Health Services have operational responsibility for Health Promotion Services within the Princess Elizabeth Hospital and the Community, Sexual Health, HIV and Viral Hepatitis Services and Smoking Cessation Services. These are supported by a Health Intelligence Team.
For information on healthy living please visit the Health Promotion pages on this site which can be found here.
Medical Officer of Health reports contain a wide range of public health information.
Click here for the most recent published reports.
Immunisation Programme
- The Guernsey Immunisation Programme aims to protect all Bailiwick residents from a range of diseases.
- Up to date details on the immunisations that are provided, how they are given and how they are funded can be found in the following document.
Guernsey Immunisation Programme [267kb]
- For more information on the Guernsey Immunisation Programme, please click here.
- Vaccination is both safe and important. You can find out more about why this is the case on the NHS website by following this link.
Healthy Schools
- School nurses work across education and health, providing a link between school, home and the community in order to improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people aged 4-18 years. For more information on school nurses, click here.
- Healthy Schools Award
We encourage all our schools to work towards the Guernsey Healthy Schools Award. This is based on the national scheme designed to support and strengthen a school's personal, social and health education (PSHCE) programme.
The aims of this programme are
- To support children and young people in developing healthy behaviours
- To help raise pupil achievement
- To help reduce health inequalities, and
- To help promote social inclusion.
- Please click here for more information. If you would like to work towards accreditation please contact Public Health Services.
Healthy Minds
- Healthy Minds offers short-term therapeutic interventions for adults aged 17 and over or who have mild to moderate anxiety and / or depression. Healthy Minds was previously called the Primary Care Mental Health and Wellbeing Service.
- Please click here for more information about what Healthy Minds offers and what to expect from your appointment.
Healthy Living
- Public Health Services works closely with the Health Improvement commission for Guernsey and Alderney.
- The Health Improvement Commission is an independent body that brings together public, private and third sectors to encourage, enable and empower healthy living in Guernsey and Alderney and take proactive steps to improve islanders' general heath and wellbeing, mentally and physically.
Screening Programmes
- Screening is the process of identifying healthy people who may have an increased chance of a disease or condition. In Guernsey and Alderney, breast, bowel and cervical screening are free for those who require it.
- Click here for more information of the screening offered in Guernsey.
Notifiable Diseases
- Medical practitioners and laboratories must notify Public Health Services when certain infectious diseases are suspected or definitively identified in a sample. Monitoring these notifications allows Public Health to
- track changing patterns of local disease burden over time, and
- identify disease outbreaks and act appropriately.
Quitline
- Quitline is the free Stop Smoking Service providing advice, information and support to people living in the Bailiwick of Guernsey who are thinking of stopping smoking. For more information please click here.
States Analytical Laboratory
- The States Analytical Laboratory undertakes chemical, microbiological and crop testing for a range of clients including businesses across the Channel Islands, States of Guernsey Committees and private individuals.
- Click here or more information about the services the Laboratory provides.
The Orchard Centre
- The Orchard Centre can help you with care and advice on sexually transmitted infections, contraception and all aspects of sexual health. It is an 'open access' clinic which means anyone can use it without being referred by their doctor. For more information, please click here.
Health Intelligence Unit
- Health Intelligence assesses, measures and describes health and wellbeing, as well as health risks, health needs and health outcomes for our population. This is the "engine" of Public Health that we use to inform the delivery of our services.
- Some examples of our work are:
- looking at how many people attend screening services when invited
- monitoring immunisation uptake
- conducting surveys
- monitoring trends in illness and deaths
Strategies
Publications
Structure of Public Health Services
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