Chris Whitty has visited Cumbria as part of research for his annual report, which will focus on small towns and rural communities.
Mr Whitty is England’s chief medical officer and he met with members of the public health team at Cumberland Council last Friday
They discussed local insight, innovation and evidence around improving population health and tackling inequalities across both rural and coastal settings.
Mr Whitty has also been leading national work examining health outcomes in coastal communities — an area of particular relevance to Cumberland.
He also visited communities in Workington and Caldbeck, where he met frontline teams, partners and local initiatives supporting health and wellbeing.
He also took part in discussions with key partners from across the health and local government system, hearing directly about the realities of delivering services in rural and coastal communities.
Partners who work closely with the council on population health and health inequalities also took part in discussions to talk about collaborative work underway across Cumberland to address the wider determinants of health — including employment, housing, access to services and community resilience — particularly in geographically dispersed and coastal communities.
Leader of Cumberland Council Mark Fryer said: “We were delighted to welcome the chief medical officer to Cumberland. His focus on small towns, rural and coastal communities strongly reflects the realities we see here every day.
“Cumberland is a place of great strengths — strong communities, natural assets and dedicated local partners — but we also face distinct challenges linked to geography, connectivity and inequality.
“The visit provided an important opportunity to share our experience, highlight the innovation taking place across our Public Health system, and contribute meaningfully to the national conversation about improving health outcomes in rural and coastal areas.”
Colin Cox, director of public health at Cumberland Council, added: “Rurality and coastal geography shape health in complex ways — from access to services and employment patterns to housing, transport and social isolation.
“We welcomed the opportunity to discuss the evidence we are seeing locally, the work underway with partners to tackle health inequalities, and the practical solutions that are making a difference for our communities.
“It is vital that national policy reflects the lived realities of small towns and rural areas, and we were pleased to support the chief medical officer’s work in this area.”
