School of Public Health

Welcome to the North West School of Public Health

An introduction from the Head of School, Rebecca Wagstaff

I am delighted to introduce the North West School of Public Health to you.

The North West School of Public Health training placements are grouped into three geographies – Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Merseyside, and Cumbria and Lancashire. An individual Specialty Registrar will normally be based in one of these geographies throughout their training. However, they might take advantage of special training opportunities in other geographies within the North West or elsewhere in the UK, especially later in training.

All North West School of Public Health Specialty Registrars complete the MPH at Liverpool University in their first year. As Head of School, I am very privileged to be supported by three zonal Programme Directors who each have one half day per week to develop the portfolios of training locations in Cumbria and Lancashire, Greater Manchester, and Cheshire and Merseyside.

The School of Public Health is part of NHS England and serves the whole of the North West of England. We train and educate public health experts and leaders to serve the people of the North West and beyond. Training in Public Health is multidisciplinary: about half of our Specialty Registrars are from a medical background, and half from other professions. Our graduates hold jobs in a wide variety of organisations that have public health as their focus, including Local Authorities, the NHS, academic organisations and Public Health England.

The School of Public Health is one of the Specialty Schools in NHS England. We follow NHS England policies and processes that meet the standards and guidance for training in place from the United Kingdom General Medical Council. The Public Health curriculum is designed by the Faculty of Public Health, our responsible professional college.

There are currently over 50 Specialty Registrars on the public health training programme. We have over 30 accredited training locations in local authorities, Public Health England, NHS trusts and other more specialised locations. The School relies on approximately 80 accredited educational and academic supervisors to support and direct registrars through training.

Dr Rebecca Wagstaff
Head of School of Public Health
NHS England – North West

Key Contacts

Dr Rebecca Wagstaff,

Head of School of Public Health

Telephone: 07501 269 662

Email: rebecca.wagstaff5@nhs.net

Professor Simon Carley,

Associate Dean for Public Health

Based at NHS England – North West Office, Three Piccadilly Place

Email: simon.carley@nhs.net

Julia Rosser,

Training Programme Director for Cheshire and Merseyside

Consultant in Public Health
Public Health and Public Protection Department,
Halton Borough Council,
Runcorn Town Hall,
Heath Road,
Runcorn
WA7 5TD

Telephone: 0151 511 8655

Email: julia.rosser@halton.gov.uk

Judith Mills,

Training Programme Director for Cumbria and Lancashire

Consultant in Public Health
Public Health Department,
Blackpool Council,
Fourth Floor, Number One Bickerstaffe Square,
Talbot Road,
Blackpool
FY1 3AH

Telephone: 01253 476 310

Email: judith.mills@blackpool.gov.uk

Lynn Donkin,

Training Programme Director for Greater Manchester

Director of Public Health, Bolton Council
3rd Floor, Bolton Town Hall,
Bolton
BL 1 1RU

Telephone: 01204 337 829

Email: lynn.donkin@bolton.gov.uk

North West School of Public Health Training Programme Management Team

Lead Employer Contacts

All Public Health trainees in the North West are employed by a single 'Lead Employer'; Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (formerly known as St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust). For any HR or payroll enquiries please contact the lead Employer team.

NHS England – North West Links

Page last updated: 25 March 2026