Medical Officer of Health’s job description (FOI)

Request

I would like a copy of the Medical Officer of Health's job description and what statutory duties she is obliged to fulfil.

I would like a copy of all laws pertaining to her role.

I would like to know to whom she is accountable and their title

Response

Attached is the job description at the time of the current Medical Officer of Health’s appointment to the post in 2011. This is based on a standard job description for a medical Consultant in Public Health Medicine, as recommended by the UK Faculty of Public Health.

Job description for Medical Officer of Health

A further document is attached, prepared in 2017, outlining the breadth of responsibilities of the Medical Officer of Health at that time.

May 2017 Role Summary for Medical Officer of Health

Currently these are broadly similar, although organisational aspects have changed. The Medical Officer of Health (MOH) and Strategic Public Health team were strategically relocated to be hosted by the then Department of Community and Constitutional Affairs in 2017 - see, for example, published Ministerial Decision (MD-HSS-2017-0049):

Ministerial Decision - MD-HSS-2017-0049

Subsequently, further organisational change led to the formation of a new Department of Strategic Policy, Planning and Performance (SPPP) led by Director-General, Mr Tom Walker. The Office of the Medical Officer of Health is one of the governmental arms-length functions located organisationally in SPPP and accountable to the Director-General as regards budget responsibility and governance. The transition was noted in the Transition Report 2019, presented to the States Assembly in December 2018 (R.155/2018):

Transition Report 2019

There are numerous laws which include statutory roles and responsibilities of the MOH. The role is established in the Loi 1934 Sur Le Santé Publique. This, and all other laws of Jersey are published on the Jersey Legal Information website, (including a translated version of the 1934 Loi). This is information that is reasonably accessible: a list of the legislation that references the office of MOH can be generated readily through a website search. Independent legal advice can be sought to interpret those laws to understand to whom the MOH is accountable in each instance.

For anyone without access to a computer, the Jersey Library can assist. Also, copies of laws can normally be obtained from the States Greffe bookshop in hard copy (for a fee).

Article applied

Article 23 Information accessible to applicant by other means

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it is reasonably available to the applicant, otherwise than under this Law, whether or not free of charge.

(2) A scheduled public authority that refuses an application for information on this ground must make reasonable efforts to inform the applicant where the applicant may obtain the information.