The aim of the Unit is to better integrate the work that the council and the Primary Care Trust (PCT) carry out with their partners in relation to improving the health of the population of Wakefield.

The Unit aims to do this by:

• increasing knowledge about the things that could affect people's health (known as Determinants of Health), and how the services offered by the Council and its partners can improve public health.
• developing an assessment tool to look at the impact our actions have on the health of the population and how we can make sure that we have a positive impact (Health Impact Assessments HIA).
• assessing the needs of specific areas of Wakefield in relation to reducing inequalities in health and developing joint action plans to address these needs (health inequality is the difference between the highest and lowest levels of health experiences).
• looking for tried and tested examples of how partnerships can make a difference.
• helping people make sense of the data and information that has been collected about health in the district (Joint Strategic Needs Assessment-JSNA).
• keeping people in touch with easy ways to improve their own health and the health of their family and freinds

The Joint Public Health Unit (JPHU) is managed by the Director of Adult Family Services and by the Joint Director of Public Health.

Audit and Peer Support
Wakefield Council and WdPCT took part in a series of Audits and Peer Review Challenges about how we were tackling health inequalities. As a result of these audits the JPHU has been set up to look at strengthening our joint approach to reducing inequalities.  For a brief outline of the findings of these audits and the action plans to address the findings see the associated link.

For further information please get in touch using Contact Us below.