Improving the public health/primary care partnership: a perspective from NHS Hounslow

The purpose of this article is to set out the importance of the public health role for clinical commissioning groups as they develop their role as commissioners and work to improve health and reduce inequalities. The article describes the experience of Public Health Hounslow that supports the local authority (Local Borough of Hounslow) and the emerging Hounslow Clinical Commissioning Group (HCCG). I review the roles of public health and primary care within the context of the current NHS reforms, and set out the rationale for the best ways to facilitate public health/primary care partnerships.