Welcome to this new venture.  I have made no secret within my own organisation, Public Health Wales, that as a pragmatist, I would register the domain phw.org.uk as I felt that someone from the organisation needed to grab it and at least provide a route to our formal website www.publichealthwales.org

However, as I clearly state in the “About” section of this web site, the views and opinions expressed on this site are entirely my own or those of other authors who may engage with this initiative.

I sought to establish this blog and web site to try and reach out to the population of Wales, utilising whatever internet technologies emerge over the next few years.  As the subtitle of the site identifies, my goal is to move beyond the planning and response that my service undertakes and get upstream of problems with health protection, helping people understand how they can help themselves.

The whole arena of health and wellbeing reaches far beyond my own area of interest, health protection.  However, the site will tend to major on health protection issues as this was the initial driver.  If, over time, I am able to attract colleagues from other areas of public health to contribute, then perhaps we will see other aspects covered.  However, there are many area of health protection where understanding of the risks by individuals and how they should manage or respond to those risks can be highlighted and lead to a positive effect on a population basis.

My hope is that by using the various technologies available nowadays, the messages will be spread by the population themselves, who will become enabled to understand and manage the risks to their health and wellbeing that they and their families and friends face daily.