Public Health Gibraltar attended for the 5th year running, the Annual International Public Health Conference in London from 22nd to 26th June.

This conference brings together all the Public Health colleagues from across the UKOTs to explore common challenges and share learning and problem solving. The Gibraltar team presented some of their work including social asset mapping, response to the Kent meningitis B outbreak and reversing the trend of seasonal influenza vaccine uptake. 

The conference, which was arranged and hosted by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), included representatives from Bermuda, Anguilla, Turks and Caicos, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, British Antarctic Territory, St Helena and Gibraltar. There were a wide range of presentations including the learning from the Hanta virus cruise ship that visited the Ascension Islands and how their small hospital and community responded to this. During the five-day conference, several important other topics were covered in-depth, such as community resilience, emergency scenarios, port health, anti-microbial stewardship and practicalities of undertaking enhanced surveillance.

Director of Public Health, Dr Helen Carter said: 

“These conferences play an important part of our continued professional development and help to foster relations with our counterparts worldwide by networking and learning from each other’s experiences. They help us understand new real-world developments in public health and offer solutions to some of our own complex issues. They also help to act as a direct channel to the UKHSA who are constantly supporting us when required”.