National Institute for Health Protection

The National Institute for Health Protection (NIHP) is an impending United Kingdom government agency for public health protection and infectious disease capability.

National Institute for Health Protection
Agency overview
Formed18 August 2020
Preceding agency
JurisdictionEngland
Agency executives
Parent agencyDepartment of Health and Social Care

Formation

The NIHP reports directly to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.[1] It was established on 18 August 2020 as a single leadership structure bringing together Public Health England, NHS Test and Trace and the analytical capability of the Joint Biosecurity Centre.[1] Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the statutory formalisation and operation of the new organisation is expected from spring 2021.[1]

Baroness Harding is the interim executive chair of the new organisation.[2][3] Lady Harding has been serving as Chairwoman of NHS Improvement since 2017 and is head of the NHS Test and Trace programme, established in May 2020. She is a former Chief Executive of the TalkTalk Group.[4][5] She sits in the House of Lords as a member of the Conservative Party and is married to Conservative Party Member of Parliament John Penrose.[6] During questioning by the Science and Technology Committee of the House of Commons, Harding said she held the interim leadership while a full application process was carried out.[7]

The Health Secretary, Matt Hancock said that the NIHP would learn from South Korea and from Germany's Robert Koch Institute "where their health protection agencies have a huge, primary, focus on pandemic response".[5][3]

The Telegraph first leaked news of the plans for the new agency on 16 August 2020. They claimed that Public Health England was to be "scrapped" and replaced by a single body combining it with NHS Test and Trace, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8] A leaked memo to staff written by the head of Public Health England, Duncan Selbie, said that the aim of the new body was to boost expertise with "much needed new investment".[9][10] Selbie apologised to staff that the news of the organisation's demise was briefed to The Telegraph before they were told.[11]

Response

A BMJ editorial described the move as "extremely foolhardy". It characterised the National Institute for Health Protection as "seem[ing] remarkably similar to the Health Protection Agency abolished in 2013."[12] An editorial in The Spectator welcomed the return to an organisation similar in remit to the that agency; it criticised Public Health England's focus on health improvement topics such as obesity and binge drinking, arguing that these should now be tackled by local NHS health teams.[13] The Telegraph welcomed the change, characterising PHE as the quango "responsible for many critical failures over the course of this [COVID-19] pandemic" that had to be scrapped.[14]

More than 70 health organisations wrote to the government on 2 September 2020 to express concern about the future of health improvement work under these changes.[15]

The appointment of Lady Harding as interim executive chair of the new body was criticised by health experts as she did not have a background in health, and because of her political position.[4][16][17] The Guardian quoted allies of hers who, in response, said that she had quickly learned after being appointed Chair of NHS Improvement in 2017 and that she had a record of "getting things done" while working in business.[4]

The timing of the reorganisation, during the ongoing pandemic response, was criticised by various health experts and other bodies,[18] including the editorial in the BMJ,[12] the Institute for Government,[19] the King's Fund,[20] and Christina Marriott, the Chief Executive of the Royal Society for Public Health.[5] An editorial in The Guardian compared it to "reorganising a fire brigade as it tries to put out a blaze" and said the decision had been made without proper consultation or scrutiny.[21]

References
  1. "Government creates new National Institute for Health Protection". GOV.UK. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  2. Hughes, Laura (17 August 2020). "Dido Harding to lead new pandemic agency for England". Financial Times. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  3. "Health Secretary axes public health body". BBC News. 18 August 2020.
  4. Campbell, Denis (18 August 2020). "Dido Harding: confident, loyal – but with precious little relevant experience". The Guardian.
  5. "Matt Hancock confirms Public Health England axed with Test and Trace boss Baroness Harding to lead replacement body". Politics Home. 18 August 2020.
  6. Walker, Jonathan (18 August 2020). "Anger as Tory politician put in charge of health body leading Covid fight". BirminghamLive.
  7. Allegretti, Aubrey (17 September 2020). "Coronavirus: Head of Test and Trace says rise in demand for COVID tests wasn't expected". Sky News. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  8. "Public Health England to be scrapped and replaced by new body - Telegraph". The Telegraph. 15 August 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020 – via Reuters.
  9. "Coronavirus: Public Health England 'to be replaced'". BBC News. 17 August 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  10. "Selbie: 'I am sorry beyond words'". HSJ. 17 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  11. "Boss 'sorry beyond words' after details on Public Health England's future leaked". ITV News. 17 August 2020.
  12. Scally, Gabriel (2020). "The demise of Public Health England". BMJ. 370: m3263. doi:10.1136/bmj.m3263. PMID 32816779. S2CID 221177869.
  13. Christopher Snowdon (19 August 2020). "Farewell, Public Health England". The Spectator.
  14. "Public Health England had to be scrapped". The Telegraph. 19 August 2020.
  15. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/sep/02/health-leaders-warn-boris-johnson-over-axing-of-public-health-england
  16. Cruse, Ellena (20 August 2020). "Matt Hancock defends appointment of Dido Harding as National Institute for Health Protection head". Evening Standard. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  17. "Britain's new health boss sparks cries of cronyism". POLITICO.
  18. Iacobucci, Gareth (2020). "Public Health England is axed in favour of new health protection agency". BMJ. 370: m3257. doi:10.1136/bmj.m3257. PMID 32816824. S2CID 221159280.
  19. "StackPath". www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk.
  20. Timmins, Nicholas (20 August 2020). "Strengthening health protection: right idea, wrong time". The King's Fund. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  21. "The Guardian view on scrapping Public Health England: not just wrong but highly risky". The Guardian. 18 August 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
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