Rosanna O’Connor is Director, Alcohol, Drugs & Tobacco within the Health and Wellbeing Directorate of Public Health England (PHE). PHE was established in April 2013 with a mission to protect and improve the nation’s health and to address inequalities. Rosanna was previously Director of Delivery at the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA). Having joined the NTA in 2003, she quickly assumed responsibility for all the agency’s operational activity. Rosanna was a previous Board member of the Youth Justice Board, chairing the Secure Accommodation Committee.
Rosanna previously held senior positions in two national voluntary sector organisations, building a significant track record of developing and delivering community, residential and prison-based services for a range of disadvantaged and complex groups of people.
Rosanna’s interest in health inequalities of individuals and communities is based on extensive experience of local communities, having been a leading elected member for 14 years, rooted in voluntary work primarily aimed at giving a voice to people marginalised by the system.
PHE has released its annual drug and alcohol treatment statistics for 2015-16. This report brings together information on adults receiving specialist interventions for both drug and alcohol problems, recognising that many people experience problems with more than one substance – so …
Deaths caused by drug misuse are rising. In order to help us take effective action we need to better understand the multiple and complex causes behind this disturbing trend. Last year, Public Health England and the Local Government Association convened …
In 2014-15 there were 295,244 adults in alcohol and drug treatment services across England. The latest official statistics on drug-related deaths in England showed the highest number of substance misuse related death since these records began and highlights a worrying …
We recently announced, for the third year, funding support for a range of innovative local projects that are helping people to recover from addiction to drugs and alcohol. This capital investment is going to support 50 projects across England, which …
We hope that through the breadth of ‘Health Matters - Harmful drinking and alcohol dependence’ content, we have made the case for investing in effective alcohol treatment services, but a question may remain; what tools and resources are available to …
Tackling drug use in prisons is important for addressing a range of criminal justice and health outcomes, including improving prisoner health, reducing drug-related offending and reoffending. It also serves to protect communities; lowering public health risks from blood borne viruses …
Local stop smoking services were established in England in 1999 as part of the Government’s commitment to help smokers to quit. These services have been phenomenally successful and to date have helped over 4 million people to successfully quit for …
The latest official statistics on drug-related deaths in England showed the highest number of substance misuse related death since these records began and highlights a worrying rise in the number of older, more vulnerable drug users dying from heroin overdose. …
In a time of tightened budgets, nobody underestimates the challenges local authorities face in delivering against competing but equally important public health targets and priorities. We hope that through the breadth of Health Matters tobacco content we have made the …
It has long been accepted that successful recovery from alcohol and drug dependence is a long-term journey and not something that can be achieved alone. Support networks across communities and among those in treatment and recovery are an essential cornerstone …
