Liverpool Health Partners (LHP) is delighted to announce the appointment of its new Living Well Programme Director, Professor Matt Ashton.

Prof Ashton will lead LHP’s newest programme, a partnership with Liverpool City Council, to focus on how our research programmes can assist people of working age lead a sustained good quality of life. He will do this by bringing together our considerable academic assets alongside our service delivery strength.

Prof Ashton will work alongside Programme Manager Elizabeth Collins to develop a strategy for the programme, to be launched before the end of 2021.

Dr Dawn Lawson, Chief Executive of LHP, said: “I am delighted to welcome Matt Ashton as our new Living Well Programme Director.

“Matt has a wealth of experience in public health and has helped lead Liverpool through the COVID-19 pandemic, working in close collaboration with partners both within and outside the city. He is well-positioned to harness our academic strengths to drive real improvements in outcomes for the people of the city.

“Living Well is an exciting addition to LHP’s programmes and we can’t wait for Matt and Elizabeth to get started on what we are sure will be a crucial component of the response to the health challenges and inequalities of people living in Cheshire and Merseyside, particularly as we reset and recover from the pandemic.”

Prof Ashton was appointed Director of Public Health for Liverpool City Council in April 2020 and is also Honorary Professor, Department of Public Health and Policy, University of Liverpool.

He leads a team of 30 people covering a range of public health activities including the commissioning of public health services, health protection, health improvement, health care public health, embedding health in all policies approaches and addressing the wider determinants of health.

Prof Ashton said: “I am passionate about bringing together the best people and partnerships in the region to improve health and wellbeing and reduce inequalities in the communities we serve.

“For that reason, I am delighted to be joining Liverpool Health Partners as I see it as a natural fit with the work we are doing at Liverpool City Council.

“LHP has demonstrated for some time that through collaboration with academic and service partners we can make a real difference to the health of local people by encouraging and helping to foster the best in research, education and innovation.”

Prof Ashton also works closely with other directors of public health across Cheshire and Merseyside, as part of the CHAMPS public health collaborative, and leads on Strategic Intelligence and Partnerships, Employment and Skills, Communications; and Workforce and CPD, and is also the lead Director of Public Health for the Liverpool City Region Violence Reduction Partnership, and for Food Active.

In partnership with Liverpool City Council and complementing the aims of LHP’s Starting Well, Living Well focuses on how LHP’s research programmes can assist people of working age lead a sustained good quality of life, in preparation to age well.  

LHP’s life course approach to programmes also includes Starting Well, which focuses on parents, preconception, babies and childhood. The life course approach is aligned to the One Liverpool and the City Plan documents, which seek to tackle inequalities and ensure a better quality of life for everyone. 

Prof Ashton is due to take up the post in September.