It has recently been confirmed that the UK’s new Health Security Agency, which will be led by Dr Jenny Harries, will plan for, prevent and respond to external health threats such as infectious diseases.
It was confirmed on GOV.UK that the UKHSA – previously the National Institute for Health Protection – will be the UK leader for health security, providing intellectual, scientific and operational leadership at national and local level, as well as on the global stage. It will ensure the nation can respond quickly and at greater scale to deal with pandemics and future threats.
The primary focus for the UKHSA in its initial phase of operation will be the continued fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
It will bring together the UK’s cutting-edge capabilities in data analytics and genomic surveillance with scale testing and contact tracing capability – combining key elements of Public Health England with the Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC), and NHS Test and Trace.
Dr Harries has previously served on the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and brings a wealth of public health knowledge and expertise gained from working in the NHS and local government at local, regional and national levels.
Health and Social Care Secretary, Matt Hancock, remarked: “The UKHSA will be this country’s permanent standing capacity to plan, prevent and respond to external threats to health. It will bring together our capabilities from the scientific excellence embodied by the likes of Dr Susan Hopkins and her amazing colleagues in clinical public health, to the extraordinary capability of NHS Test and Trace which Dido Harding has built so effectively over the last 9 months and the JBC.
“Dr Jenny Harries brings huge local, regional and national experience to the role and is perfectly placed to help us not only learn lessons from the COVID-19 response, but to keep us in a state of readiness, primed to respond to infectious diseases and other external health threats.
“I want everybody at UKHSA, at all levels, to wake up every day with a zeal to plan for the next pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the world-leading capabilities of the country’s public health science, and it has also shown the challenges of protecting the nation’s health are changing at an unprecedented pace, as new types of threats emerge.”
Dr Jenny Harries, incoming Chief Executive, UKHSA, added: “The pandemic has put the UK’s health security capabilities in sharp focus and the UKHSA will change the way we approach health protection.
“With the creation of the UKHSA, we have an unprecedented opportunity to build on the scientific and operational strength that has been developed, learn from the past and further develop strong bonds with health protection leadership from global to local, to ensure we are ready for the challenges of the future.
“The UKHSA will be agile in its responses, maximise the benefits of high-quality data, be relentless in its mission to rapidly identify and respond to new threats, whilst working seamlessly with academia, scientists, industry and local communities.
“In starting this important work I want to pay tribute to the commitment and professionalism of all those colleagues who have worked so hard in NHS Test and Trace, in PHE and in the JBC. I look forward to building a diverse, dynamic and dedicated world-leading health security agency with them.”
The UKHSA Board will be announced in due course. The Board will have a key role to play in providing constructive challenge, advice and support to the Chief Executive and the executive team.