Dr Shahed Ahmad appointed as Enfield director of public health (From This Is Local London)

Dr Shahed Ahmad appointed as Enfield director of public health

11:23am Thursday 11th March 2010 in

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A NEW chief of public health has been appointed for NHS Enfield and Enfield Council.

As joint director of public health, Dr Shahed Ahmad will have responsibility for public health in both the NHS and local government.

He will be responsible for promoting health and wellbeing, tackling health inequalities and ensuring public bodies work effectively together.

Dr Ahmad graduated in medicine from Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and completed his clinical studies at what was then called University College and Middlesex School of Medicine, in London.

He also has an MSc in public health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Before coming to Enfield, he worked as the regional associate director for health improvement for north London.

Following his appointment, Dr Ahmad said: “We face some enormous challenges in terms of child health, adult health inequalities and healthy lifestyles.

"I am relishing the opportunity of working with people who live and work in Enfield to make Enfield an even healthier place to live.”

Nigel Beverley, interim chief executive of NHS Enfield, added: “We are delighted to appoint this important new post, which will ensure the NHS and local government work more closely together to improve health of people in Enfield.

"Dr Ahmad brings a wealth of experience and local knowledge to the job."

Councillor Edward Smith, cabinet member for adult social services, stressed the importance of "pooling resources" between the council and NHS.

He said: "I strongly believe we as a council must work more closely with NHS Enfield to address public health issues in our local community, many of which are lifestyle related.

“Having Dr Ahmad on our senior management team enables us to link with colleagues in the local health service and start to develop public health policy on a joint basis.

"Pooling council and NHS resources will allow us to share information on changing demography and lifestyle related health issues, and thus provide more effective services to the local community."