Prof. Patrick Saunders
Professor Patrick Saunders (Visiting Professor in Public Health) is a Consultant in Public Health and Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Birmingham. A registered Public Health Specialist, Faculty of Public Health (FPH) Board member, he was awarded Fellowship of the FPH in 2011. Patrick graduated in Environmental Health in 1979 and has held service, research, teaching and management posts with the WHO, Health Protection Agency, local government, the NHS and a number of Universities. He recently retired from the NHS as Associate Director of Public Health and maintains active research, teaching and consultancy commitments including the Royal College of Physicians and Medact. His research interest is in the public health impact, especially on reproductive health, of exposure to low levels of chemicals and was awarded a PhD at the University of Birmingham in 2004. Patrick has had a career long commitment to developing the evidence base underpinning public health practice and addressing environmental and public health inequalities.
“Environmental stressors have a major impact on individual and community health and well-being. Inequities in exposure to these stressors have been recognised for some time and evidence is now emerging about differences in susceptibly. Prioritising and tackling these injustices requires good science, effective leadership and policies, evidence based and cost-effective interventions underpinned by collaboration across professions and organisations. Inherit will contribute to all these dimensions and deliver better health and lives for all communities while reducing the unacceptable deficit in the health experiences of the vulnerable.”