Meningitis outbreak response to headline national public health conference

The implications of the recent meningitis outbreak in the South of England will be a key focus at a major public health conference taking place next week.

The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) Public Health Protection Conference 2026 will bring together leading experts to explore the most pressing challenges facing those working to protect public health.

A keynote session will examine the meningitis outbreak in Kent earlier this year, with speakers Kate McPhedran, Principal Health Practitioner at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), and Wendy Osmond, Environmental Health Practitioner at Canterbury City Council. They will provide an update on the current situation, reflect on the response to the outbreak, and discuss its wider implications for environmental health practice.

The programme also features a panel discussion on managing disease outbreaks, focusing on key public health threats and the lessons learned from recent incidents. The panel will be led by Professor Dominic Mellon, Deputy Director for Health Protection in Regions at UKHSA, alongside Dr Megan Corder, Consultant in Public Health with NHS England’s National Public Health Team.

Other highlights include a case study on smoking cessation within recovery services, presented by Femi Varundi of Peterborough City Council and Alison Guscott from Change Grow Live, and a session exploring the role of environmental health in Glucagon-Like-Peptide-1 (GLP-1) weight management medications. This session will be led by Natalie Bandoo from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and CIEH Trustee Sterling Crew, who also chairs the Advisory Board of the Food Authenticity Network.

The conference will also feature an interactive session from the Local Government Association (LGA) on its Public Health Improvement Programme, and the role Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) can play.

An overview of the LGA’s Public Health Improvement Programme will be provided, which includes delivery of 90 public health peer reviews over the next three years, funded by the Department of Health and Social Care.

The peer reviews will provide councils with an opportunity to undertake structured, peer-led reflection on how effectively they are fulfilling their public health responsibilities.

Following the overview, there will a facilitated session to provide an opportunity for EHOs to contribute to the consultation on the scope of the public health peer reviews. This session will use an interactive poll and discussion to capture as many views as possible.

Facilitators of the session will be Kay Burkett, Programme Lead - Public Health at the Local Government Association (LGA), and Julia Weldon, Expert advisor to the LGA for the Public Health Improvement Programme and former Director of Public Health.

Rachel Flowers, CIEH Public Health Advisory Panel member and academic at London South Bank University, who is chairing the conference, said:

“It is such a privilege to be part of this year's CIEH Public Health Protection Conference – an event that brings together colleagues from across environmental health, public health, local government and national bodies to share knowledge, ideas and practical experience in an area we are deeply passionate about.

“The programme highlights both the challenges and opportunities facing our profession, with a strong focus on collaboration.

"I look forward to connecting with everyone – familiar faces and new ones alike – all of us part of the invaluable health protection system.”

The half day conference takes place online on Thursday, 11 June and is open to CIEH members and non-members. To view the full programme and to book a place visit: https://www.cieh.org/events/2026/june/cieh-public-health-protection-conference/