Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty speaks at event in Eastbourne

Professor Chris Whitty spoke to hundreds of health professionals and young people at the first ever South East Public Health Conference held right here in the Welcome Building on March 24. There were a variety of scientific presentations, discussions, and workshops.

A spokesperson for the event said: “This free conference aims to bring together colleagues and partners from across the southeast region to reflect and share learning on the opportunities and challenges for public health practice in 2023 and beyond.”

Young people from schools and colleges from across East Sussex considering a career in medicine were invited.

Elke Rogers, 17 and from Heathfield Community College, said: “I’m hoping to find out about different careers related to health, things I wouldn’t have thought about it.”

Sam Martin, 19 and from Plumpton College, said: “I came to learn more about the industry. I enjoyed Chris Whitty’s presentation, the way he talks, he is very witty.”

Darrell Gale, East Sussex’s director of public health, said: “This event gave us a chance to celebrate the achievements of public health teams across the south east in the 10 years since they moved from NHS to local authorities, and share learning, opportunities and challenges - most notably the work done during the unprecedented Covid pandemic.

“The event also allowed us to build on the ongoing work of the Universal Healthcare Proposition in Hastings which aims to remove hurdles to careers in healthcare and medicine for children in our most deprived areas and grow our own workforce from our own communities.”

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