Skip to main content

About Public Health

Since April 2013 all councils have taken on new responsibilities for Public Health. We will put health and wellbeing at the heart of everything we do and help people in Plymouth to live healthier and happier lives.

What are we doing?

Did you know life expectancy in Plymouth is improving?

On average residents can expect to live for 79.8 years. But the gap between the most wealthy and the least well off has grown. The reason for this is social inequalities around income, housing, education, employment and opportunities. We are working to make sure tackling health inequalities is at the heart of all Council policies. Our vision is to have a fairer society and healthy communities in the city.

Public health duties

Plymouth City Council is now responsible for a wide range of health issues including stop smoking services and other lifestyle campaigns to promote better health for all. View the full list.

The Public Health team works with other organisations in the city that actually provide the services.

More information on help with health issues

We have contracts with Livewell SouthWest, GP surgeries and local pharmacies for a range of health services such as support to stop smoking, help with losing weight and sexual health promotion. PCH also provides community, physical and mental healthcare.

Background to the transfer

The Health and Social Care Act reorganised the structure of the NHS in England and transferred Public Health responsibilities into local government. In Plymouth a new department called the Office of the Director of Public Health was established and granted a ring fenced budget from the Department of Health.

Key datasets utilised by Public Health

The below document has been developed to provide a high level summary of the key datasets available to Plymouth City Council’s Public Health Team.  It has been produced to enable Council colleagues and partners across the city to gain an insight into (1) the wealth of information that the Team has access to, and (2) some of the analysis that is carried out using the sources described.

The public health team

The Public Health team works with other organisations in the city that provide the services.

  • tobacco control and smoking cessation services
  • alcohol and drug misuse services
  • public health services for children and young people aged 5 to 19 (including Healthy Child Programme 5 to 19) (and in the longer term all public health services for children and young people)
  • the National Child Measurement Programme
  • interventions to tackle obesity such as community lifestyle and weight management services
  • locally-led nutrition initiatives
  • increasing levels of physical activity in the local population
  • NHS health check assessments
  • public mental health services
  • dental public health services
  • accidental injury prevention
  • population level interventions to reduce and prevent birth defects
  • behavioural and lifestyle campaigns to prevent cancer and long-term conditions
  • local initiatives on workplace health
  • supporting, reviewing and challenging delivery of key public health funded and NHS delivered services such as immunisation and screening programmes
  • comprehensive sexual health services (including testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, contraception outside of the GP contract and sexual health promotion and disease prevention)
  • local initiatives to reduce excess deaths as a result of seasonal mortality
  • the local authority role in dealing with health protection incidents, outbreaks and emergencies
  • public health aspects of promotion of community safety, violence prevention and response
  • public health aspects of local initiatives to tackle social exclusion
  • local initiatives that reduce public health impacts of environmental risks