Two new Public Health leadership appointments have been announced in roles vital to support the Island Plan strategy for better health and wellbeing for all Isle of Man residents.
Dr Matt Tyrer joined on Monday 30 September as Director of Public Health Isle of Man from Cheshire East Council in the UK, where he has been Director of Public Health for the last five years. Dr Tyrer is also an honorary lecturer in public health at Keele University. He will lead the team with a focus on long term population health for the Island.
In November Dr Ross Keat (pictured) joins the Island’s public health team as a Consultant in Public Health to take the lead in the development and delivery of Public Health healthcare and health protection. Dr Keat will also deputise for the new Director as required.
A trained doctor with more than a decade of public health experience, at Cheshire East Council Dr Tyrer led an award-winning team through the COVID-19 pandemic, chaired Cheshire and Merseyside Public Health Collaborative, and developed Cheshire East Council as a public health training and development location.
He said: “I want to bring my passion for improving health and wellbeing to this spectacular and unique island community. I firmly believe that we can do things now that will make things better for ourselves, our children and generations to come and I look forward to working to create a healthy and happy future for the Isle of Man.”
In his current role as Public Health Consultant with Knowsley Council in the UK, Dr Keat is the lead for health protection, overseeing vaccinations, screening, sexual health, tobacco cessation, social prescribing, and oral health.
He said: “I am thrilled to be joining the Isle of Man’s public health team, building on the excellent work of colleagues on the Island before me.”
Dr Keat is a qualified dentist, has worked across public health portfolios since 2017, and he has worked as a core trainee in Maxillofacial Surgery. Dr Keat is a Fellow within the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, and of the Faculty of Public Health.
