Andrew Graham Public Health Consultant/Service Director Public Health and Wellbeing

About me

Andrew is a GenerationQ Fellow and Public Health Consultant at Gateshead Council.

He is responsible for population and community-based approaches to mental health, obesity, tobacco control and sexual health. He is also Service Director for Leisure Services. His team also works on the public health aspects of housing and homelessness, migration, environment, food licensing, transport and economic regeneration.

Andrew trained as a registered nurse, and worked in Accident and Emergency, developing an ambition to prevent the problems which led people to the department. He went on to become Regional Lead for the UK’s first comprehensive tobacco control programme. In 2007 he joined, and later became Head of, Tobacco Control at the Department of Health National Support Teams, before training as a Public Health Specialty Registrar from 2011 to 2017.

At Gateshead Council, Andrew is leading work to clearly define the public health team’s core purpose and priorities, and the principles needed to achieve them; and to ensure that the skills and experience within the team appropriately support the council’s vision of making Gateshead a place where everyone thrives.

GenerationQ will provide Andrew with the time, space, learning and peer support to explore the challenges the council faces and consider potential solutions, while further developing his ability to effectively lead change.

'I am interested in the opportunity GenerationQ offers to explore change and the use of improvement methodologies, alongside the art and science of effective leadership.

'In local government, facing the kinds of complex problems we do, and with a determination to do the right things, this opportunity feels priceless.'