Ms Lucy Vanes

Lucy is a Public Health Specialty Registrar based in Greater Manchester. She has completed placements at a range of organisations including NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership (NHS GM ICP), the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit and Bolton Council.
Lucy has a range of experience in sustainability. She was previously a representative for the Sustainability Group of the North West Public Health Specialist Registrar Network and remains on the group. She authored a chapter on public health and climate change (with a focus on inequalities) for Bolton’s Climate Change Strategy. Her recommendations included the need to discuss disincentives to private vehicle use, linking into pension campaigns around divestment from fossil fuels, and also bringing in actions around the impact of food production and consumption on the environment and the co-benefits in terms of health. She is currently drafting a climate adaptation plan for NHS GM ICP.

Prior to training Lucy worked for the Public Health Team (latterly as a Public Health Strategist) at Hackney Council in London, with her main focus being on the health of children and young people aged 5-19 (including sexual health, substance misuse, obesity, serious youth violence), as well as additional work on embedding public health in planning policy and practice.

Lucy is a Member of the Faculty of Public Health and holds an MSc in Global Public Health and Policy from Queen Mary University of London as well as a Diploma in Public Health from the University of Liverpool, both awarded with Distinction.

Reason for applying for the scheme

Lucy is passionate about sustainability as an integral part of public health practice and is keen to bring her expertise in the health impacts of climate change to this challenge. In particular, she will relish the opportunity to develop her leadership skills further alongside colleagues from other specialities and clinical professions as sometimes public health can operate separately from the work of colleagues more on the frontline of practice; this would help to develop her skills in cross-team collaborations and bring a richness to developing sustainable leadership strategies.

Lucy’s key reflection from the sustainability work she has done thus far is the importance of understanding the context of a local area or organisation and the key partners in the work, then using influence and negotiating skills to make the case for sustainability from a public health and economic perspective. Having the opportunity to become a Chief Sustainability Officer's Clinical Fellow will enable her to expand her experience beyond climate adaptation in the health and care system to consideration of net zero in relation to all parts of the NHS, from staff training and health promotion to estates and supply chain issues (to name just a few).

Ultimately, the climate crisis is the biggest public health issue of our time and clinical systems leadership focused on sustainability, with a health inequalities lens, is needed to drive the change needed in our health and care system. She believes that her public health experience and leadership qualities will be an asset in this challenge.