Simon Hailstone

During my final year I worked with PHE’s Screening Division on a variety of interesting and rewarding projects. I helped plan and steer an evaluation of a new screening programme for the rare genetic condition Severe Combined ImmunoDeficiency (‘SCID’) which involved drawing together a variety of clinical and academic subject experts to deal with the complex issues faced when rolling out a new programme. I have also worked on engaging with Directors of Public Health with screening inequalities as part of the new Screening Inequalities strategy produced by PHE. Working with the ADPH and LGA to drive this work forward.

The placement also gave me the opportunity to spend some time with New Zealand’s Ministry of Health and their screening team, where I attended the Maori screening inequalities group, incident review panels and had the opportunity to present to New Zealand’s National Screening Advisory Committee on work underway in the UK.

Towards the end of my placement I moved into the screening quality assurance world where I arrived in time to contribute to the response to the recent national breast screening incident. I have now secured a role covering screening quality assurance for the London region. I am looking forward to the challenges ahead and am thoroughly enjoying working with a very capable and friendly team.