Public Health Intelligence North East

Public Health Intelligence North East (PHINE), is a new concept to help get the best possible use of the regional health intelligence resources.

It was developed in response to Professor Peter Hill’s analysis of the requirements for the new Strategic Health Authority when it was set up late in 2006. This identified a need for a new level of competence and facilities in information and intelligence to service the requirements both of commissioning and of the new public health policy “Choosing Health”. Local Area Agreements and Joint Strategic Needs assessment, as well as the new focus on ‘World-Class’ Commissioning have underscored this. Public Health Observatories were created in each region in 1999 and have taken the lead in these fields all over the country.

The North East Public Health Observatory recognised the need to develop clinical and health information networks, bringing together skills from all around the SHA area to provide the expertise. At the same time NEPHO has pioneered the development of an internet based infrastructure to provide the vehicle for these communities to share expertise for the benefit of all. Over the next few years this should make the best possible use of all out skills, deliver greatly improved service to all our communities.

The aim of PHINE is to:

provide effective links between information specialists in the region
to create a basis for sharing of expertise and good practice
to avoid duplication
to carry out a workplan agreed by the RDPH and DsPH
to develop a single portal enquiry service
to create a programme of personal professional development of relevance to information specialists

Joint Strategic Needs Assessment
	The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 requires PCTs and local authorities to produce a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) of the health and wellbeing of its local community. The JSNA will lead to stronger partnerships between communities, local government, and the NHS, providing a firm foundation for commissioning that improves health and social care provision and reduces inequalities. The JSNA was identified as being a project which many constituent organisations of PHINE would need to undertake so joint collaboration project has been developed to prevent duplication of work and encourage a more efficient use of resource. The JSNA group includes members from across the PHINE network and regularly convenes to develop the project. To learn more about JSNA, or to become involved with the project, visit the JSNA groups pages.
Special Interest Groups
	PHINE's specialist interest groups are being developed for people to share advice and best practice. There are already groups specialising in mental health, population statistics, hospital episode statistics (HES), alcohol, obesity, JSNA, reporting tools and GIS, amongst others. If you can't find a group to suit your specialism, any registered user can set one up!
Developing a North East Public Health Professionals Community
	When you register on PHINE, you join a growing community of public health professionals who can share knowledge and expertise. PHINE harnesses the power of social networking technologies facilitate collaboration with public health professionals across the region.