Public health specialists from a non-medical background gain more prominence over medical specialist

Differing recruitment patterns and salaries are emerging, especially between local authorities and Public Health England (PHE).  There is a concern that medics are not attracted to local authorities and non-medics unable to get jobs in PHE, creating a divide in workforce.

Medics may be unwilling to accept local authority terms and conditions and even non-medics may be reluctant if their salary does not reflect their experience (which in some cases may be as senior professionals in NHS).

This may reinforce differences between medics and non-medics, which have largely been broken down over the years and may be detrimental to ensuring a coherent workforce, especially if medics mistrust the contribution of non-medics. Tensions between medics and non-medics may reduce the unity and therefore the negotiating power of public health consultants as a whole.

Some of the information in this section is provided by stakeholders and expert groups, and does not necessarily represent the views of the CfWI.