What does the experience of COVID-19 pandemic tell us about the state of the health of the public, and the public health system? A presentation for the webinar UAE University, College of Medicine and Life Science, Institute of Public health

1. Planning for an outbreak of health:
Lessons from the pandemic for the health of the
public and the public health service
Tuesday, 23rd February 2021 7:00 PM (UAE Time)
Prof. John Middleton
President of ASPHER

2. The public’s health
There’s never been
a better, or more
necessary, time to
be in public health

3. Public health systems are
being depleted; prominent
public health figures
removed silenced, or ignored.
Dr Li Wenliang, is only the
most prominent of Chinese
whistle blowers who first
expressed concern about the
new COVID19 to have been
killed by the virus or to have
disappeared. It is timely that
our
intrepid Talkpublichealth team
chose the theme
of whistleblowing for the public
good for their recent podcast.

4. JOHN
HOPKINS
GLOBAL
COVID
TRACKE
R, 7TH
MARCH
2020

5. WUHAN EPICURVE AND
NARRATIVE, PAN A ET AL , JAMA
APRIL 2020

6. John Middleton [lecture
title] [date]

7. John Middleton [lecture
title] [date]

8. 02/03/2021 8

9. 02/03/2021 9

10. Global governance for health

11. https://www.aspher.org/covid-19-task-force.html

13. John Middleton [lecture
title] [date]
https://www.aspher.org/
download/413/aspher_s
tatement_on_the_strate
gic_use_of_masks.pdf

15. John Middleton [lecture
title] [date]
https://www.asph
er.org/download/4
21/aspher_statem
ent_on_the_covid
-19_testing.pdf

17. John Middleton [lecture
title] [date]

23. Race and ethnicity risks Black men
4X as likely to die from COVID_19
Risks-
• Pre-existing Health risks- long term
conditions, diabetes, obesity
• More likely to be in high risk
occupations-health, food
processing, transport, security,
front-line health and social care
• Institutional racism- not being
listened to when concerned on
risks (Kevin Fenton PHE report,
West Midlands Labour Party report)
▲Journal
American
Medical
Association,
May 2020
◀︎ UK Office of
National
Statistics,
April 2020

26. https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2020/05/05/now-is-not-the-time-to-undermine-the-world-health-
organization/
Global governance for health

27. 02/03/2021 27

29. The danse macabre
We are not in a war, we are in a civil
disaster, the biggest act of governmental
failure ever in the UK. We are victims of
serial acts of negligence and wilful
mismanagement. It is the biggest single
act of corporate manslaughter our
country has known. People have said it
before about war propaganda; in the era
of coronavirus, blind acceptance of our
rulers’ orders will get you killed.
Middleton J. Personal blog. The danse-macabre
moves offline, out of sight, out of mind. June 27th
2020. Https://www.aspher.org/articles,4,80.html

30. There are seven rules, for managers,
leaders and governments.
1. Communicate Clearly
‘We will announce lockdown extensions at
lunch-time every Thursday, based on data
you can see and track here…’
Management by mumbling doesn’t work.
02/03/2021 30

31. 2. Avoid mixing up the
messages.
Be clear and bold; ‘What the
rules will be this time next
week, I don’t know but if
you go on holiday you are
taking a risk. Don’t come
home crying. It was your
call to go’.
Manage by being clear
about who is responsible for
what.
02/03/2021 31
There are seven rules, for managers, leaders and governments.

32. 3. Don’t fudge to be
popular.
Don’t fudge rules, people
won’t follow them. Spell out
simple guidance.
Manage in black and white.
do the simplest of things.
32
There are seven rules, for
managers, leaders and
governments.

33. 4. Get aligned.
Covid variations among home
nations are partly
political. Labour Wales and
SNP Scotland are very good at
making BoJo look flat-foot.
Remember, management…
electors or workforce, it’s
about people.
Manage with one clear
tune. Get people marching in
step.
33
There are seven rules, for managers,
leaders and governments.

35. 5. Be clear…
… about how the decisions are made and
transparent about where the data is coming
from.
Management by rumour creates title tattle and
mistrust.
02/03/2021 35
There are seven rules, for managers, leaders and governments.

37. 6. Be honest.
We know, this is about keeping
the holiday businesses, airlines
and coffee shops going. Covid
safety is up to decisions made
by individuals. Say it.
Honest management is ethical
management.
02/03/2021 37
There are seven rules, for managers, leaders and governments.

38. 7. Make the messages simple.
The Transport bloke Grant
Shapps, on Friday, trying to
explain the mess was pure
Monty Python. He couldn’t do
it because no one could.
Good managers, manage the
message.
38
There are seven rules, for managers, leaders and governments.

39. 02/03/2021 39
They say, history repeats itself. It’s
true. Want of foresight, unwillingness
to act, indecision, accept advice, be
truthful… time and again,
governments fail to do the simplest of
things.
There are seven rules, for managers, leaders and governments.

40. Don’t be incompetent
02/03/2021 40

41. 02/03/2021 41

45. Don’t be negligent
02/03/2021 45

47. Don’t be corrupt
02/03/2021 47

48. John Middleton [lecture
title] [date]
Global
governance for
health

51. February
19th 2021

52. 02/03/2021 52

53. 02/03/2021 53

54. 02/03/2021 54

55. 02/03/2021 55

56. 02/03/2021 56

58. John Middleton [lecture
title] [date]

59. https://www.bmj.com/con
tent/372/bmj.n394
Covid-19: Is
Manaus the
final nail in
the coffin for
natural herd
immunity?
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-
6736(21)00183-5/fulltext

60. Experience in the UAE
and Middle East

67. Great UAE performance on
Vaccination

68. Great UAE performance on Vaccination

69. Great performance on
Vaccination
Muslim Council
of Britain :
statements on
vaccination
What can the
UK
communities
learn from the
UAE
experience?

72. Postscript
Don’t say you’ve cracked it ….
Trump-’no American deaths’
Ardern, New Zealand 100 days COVID free
Czechia Charles Bridge, Prague street party
Johnson ‘Beer, cricket on the green and
haircut….’

73. 73
02/03/2021
Planning for an outbreak of health:
Improving the public health system,
profession and services :
the role of ASPHER

77. https://www.aspher.
org/aspher-
programme-for-
public-health-
competencies.html

79. Competencies in pandemic ?
Epidemiology and surveillance
Assessment of effective interventions
Advocacy, organisation and leadership
Monitoring the effectiveness of interventions
Working in partnerships
Working with other disciplines
Preparedness
Emergency planning and response

80. Competencies in pandemic ?
Preparedness
Emergency planning and response
What goes wrong in major disasters?
Procurement
Public relations/communications to press and public
People injured or dying from other emergencies
Recovery

81. Competencies in pandemic ?
Partners-equals- public health - a medical specialty, but a…
multidisciplinary profession, service, and system
Health professionals- medical, nursing, allied professions,
occupational health, environmental health, information science,
health administration, social care, teachers, police officers, but
also
Economists, social scientists, psychologists…

83. Competencies in pandemic ?
‘ISIS, crop failure and no antibiotics’-
https://academic.oup.com/eurpub/article/26/5/735/2197622
Competence and allies in the new millenium
Climate science, ecology, political science, theologians
international law
Global governance
‘

84. The new
Global
Network for
Academic
Public
Health- and
our
statement
regarding
the role of
WHO
https://s3.amazonaws.com/ASPPH_Media_Files/Docs/Global+Network+WHO+Statement
.pdf

85. New
global
network
for
academic
public
health –
Statement
on Beirut
explosion
this week

86. John Middleton:Planning for an outbreak of health

87. Planning for an
outbreak of health:
Improving the health of
the public

88. uild back
etter?

89. John Middleton:Planning for an outbreak of health
https://www.health.org.uk/sites/default/files/up
load/publications/2020/Build-back-fairer-the-
COVID-19-Marmot-review.pdf
Build back
Fairer?

90. ‘Build back’ ?
To what austerity, poverty and
unfairness? Environmental
squalor and health and wealth for
some?
Plan for an outbreak of health….

91. John Middleton [lecture
title] [date]
Upsides
of
lockdow
n 1 :
Decline
in air
pollution

92. Upsides in
lockdown 2:
interest in
more active
travel

93. https://epha.or
g/public-
health-must-
be-
strengthened-
for-a-healthy-
post-covid-
world/
Global governance for health

94. William Beveridge designed a welfare
state for the UK in the deepest point
of the Second World War.
‘We should regard want,
idleness , ignorance,
squalor and disease as
enemies of us all. That is
the meaning of a social
conscience; that we refuse
to make our separate
peace with evil.’

95. Next webinar
March 23th, 2021
@UAEU_IPH
UAEU IPH
IPH@UAEU.AC.AE
Prof. John Middleton
Email: john.middleton@aspher.org
Website: www.aspher.org
Twitter: @doctorblooz
Contacts: