With a vision to promote health and wellbeing and reduce inequalities, Professor S Josephine Pravinkumar has taken up the post of NHS Lanarkshire’s director of public health and health policy.
Josephine is leading NHS Lanarkshire’s public health directorate, which assesses the health status and healthcare needs of the community and helps to improve them through health protection, health improvement and health service development.
She said: “I’m delighted to be taking on this exciting role, working with colleagues in NHS Lanarkshire and other parts of NHS Scotland, North and South Lanarkshire’s health and social care partnerships and councils, other public health partners, including Public Health Scotland, and voluntary organisations, to tackle Lanarkshire’s public health challenges.”
Originally from Chennai, India, Josephine began her career in the UK in 1995 in the specialty of obstetrics and gynaecology before moving to pursue her ambition to work in public health.
She has a strong association with NHS Lanarkshire, having joined in 1999 to train in public health medicine. Following a period as a consultant with NHS Ayrshire and Arran, Josephine returned to Lanarkshire in 2009 and has worked with the health board as a consultant in public health medicine since then.
Josephine said that the pandemic has had a huge impact on individuals, families and communities.
“There has been a tremendous response by people across Lanarkshire in relation to care homes, health and social care, nurseries, schools and colleges, workplaces, hospitality venues and other social settings.
“People have been making sacrifices in their personal and working lives for nearly two years and have been, in the vast majority of situations, keeping informed about developments and making responsible decisions about their behaviour including testing, vaccination and taking steps to reduce the spread of infection.
“The NHS Lanarkshire public health team has worked closely with Covid-19 community champions to get a better understanding of the experience that people in local communities have been having as the response to the pandemic has progressed. This joint working has influenced the way in which information and services have been provided in order to try to meet people’s needs as well as possible.”
Josephine said the focus on public health has never been as intense and she has witnessed first-hand how her colleagues in NHS Lanarkshire and partner organisations have striven tirelessly to battle Covid-19.
She commented: “The pandemic has also underlined more than ever the importance and urgency of addressing various public health challenges, especially inequalities.”
The disease, Josephine noted, has also had an effect on pre-pandemic public health priorities, including mental wellbeing, health in early childhood, making communities safe and healthy and reducing harm from alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.
She explained: “Covid-19 has had a huge impact on the population and provides a major opportunity for public health services to make a difference by improving and promoting health and wellbeing and reducing health inequalities – the unfair and avoidable differences in people’s health across social groups and between different population groups.”
Josephine also paid tribute to the leadership of Gabe Docherty, her predecessor as public health director.
She said: “Gabe gave us phenomenal leadership before and during the pandemic. He is great with people and has given the team confidence and offered them great opportunities, providing a wonderful foundation as I take on the role. I’m stepping into big shoes.”
Stressing the importance of following Covid guidance to stay home as much as possible in light of the highly-infectious Omicron variant, Josephine said: “Please also take regular lateral flow tests, especially before you socialise, continue to wear a face covering, maintain good hand hygiene and ventilate rooms.
“And get fully vaccinated. To counter Omicron, it is particularly important to get a booster dose three months after completing your primary course of vaccination.”
NHS Lanarkshire chief executive Heather Knox said: “Having had the pleasure of working closely with Josephine over many years, I am delighted that someone of Josephine’s experience and ability has taken up this crucial role. We look forward to moving ahead with our vital public health agenda under her leadership.”
