MEMORANDUM BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH PUBLIC
HEALTH (PH1) (contd.)
9. THE ROLE
AND FUNCTIONS
OF THE
CHIEF MEDICAL
OFFICER AND
THE MEDICAL
CIVIL SERVICE
9.1 The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) is the
professional head of the Department of Health medical staff and
carries the rank of Second Permanent Secretary. He is also the
Government's Chief Medical Officer and head of the Medical Civil
Service. The post is also CMO to the Department for Education
and Employment; the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food;
the Home Office; and the Department of Social Security. The post
also provides advice to the Department of the Environment, Transport
and the Regions; the Department of Trade and Industry; and the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
9.2 The role of the CMO and the medical
civil service (including those in Agencies) is to assist the Secretary
of State in the Department of Health and the Secretaries of State
and Ministers in other Government departments, to secure a healthier
population and achieve Departmental and Agency objectives by:
(i) monitoring health and the outcome of
health care;
(ii) achieving greater understanding of what
influences and determines health, ill-health and quality of life;
and
(iii) implementing changes required to achieve
improvement, within the context of Government policy and the constraints
of existing knowledge and available resources.
This role is strongly supported by a series of
policy documents including The New NHS, Saving Lives: Our Healthier
Nation, First Class Service, Working for Patients and Caring for
People.
Functions of the CMO
9.3 The CMO sees his role being divided
into three broad areas. These are:
(i) improving the health of the population
particularly in relation to inequality in health;
(ii) protecting the public health; and
(iii) enhancing the quality of clinical care.
9.4 The CMO has certain statutory duties
including those laid on him under the Abortion Act 1967, the Abortion
Regulations 1968, the Misuse of Drugs Act 1973, and the Public
Health (Infectious Diseases) Regulations 1988.
9.5 The CMO is accountable to Ministers.
He has line management responsibility for the Public Health Group
in the Department of Health and is accountable to the Permanent
Secretary for discharging this management aspect of his role.
9.6 As part of the NHS Executive he also
has specific management responsibilities, initially in relation
to the implementation of clinical governance. He has a particular
interest in the quality and style of leadership for the national
public health and health service development functions and for
the quality of policy formulation and implementation in these
areas.
CMO's Communications
9.7 The CMO has a variety of mechanisms
for communicating public health information. Details of these
are at Annex G.
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