Rosanna O’Connor is Director, Alcohol, Drugs & Tobacco within the Health and Wellbeing Directorate of Public Health England (PHE). PHE was established in April 2013 with a mission to protect and improve the nation’s health and to address inequalities. Rosanna was previously Director of Delivery at the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA). Having joined the NTA in 2003, she quickly assumed responsibility for all the agency’s operational activity. Rosanna was a previous Board member of the Youth Justice Board, chairing the Secure Accommodation Committee.
Rosanna previously held senior positions in two national voluntary sector organisations, building a significant track record of developing and delivering community, residential and prison-based services for a range of disadvantaged and complex groups of people.
Rosanna’s interest in health inequalities of individuals and communities is based on extensive experience of local communities, having been a leading elected member for 14 years, rooted in voluntary work primarily aimed at giving a voice to people marginalised by the system.
There are an estimated 589,000 people who are dependent on alcohol in England and about a quarter of them are likely to be receiving mental health medication. This blog looks at alcohol dependence and mental health in detail.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published its annual drug misuse deaths report, which shows that there were 4,115 deaths last year due to drug poisoning. This blog looks at some of the report's main findings and the actions we're taking to prevent future drug-related deaths.
PHE has published the first ever evidence review of dependence and withdrawal problems associated with five commonly prescribed classes of medicines in England. Find out more in this blog about what this means for patients and what needs to be done.
Find out about a ground-breaking trial of an innovative, specialist form of employment support designed to help people move from substance misuse treatment into employment.
This blog looks at what we have learned from the prevalence estimations on crack and opiate use, along with the findings from a PHE and Home Office investigation.
As the latest alcohol and drug treatment statistics are released, we take a look at the main issues that this year’s stats have shown us.
This blog provides a snapshot of the latest edition of Health Matters, which focuses on the range of smoking quitting routes that are available and the evidence for their effectiveness. It also explores perceptions around nicotine and e-cigarette safety.
The ONS has published the latest figures for drug-related deaths in England and Wales, covering all deaths registered in 2017.
Over the past year, there has been increasing media coverage about alprazolam (typically referred to by the brand name Xanax), highlighting what is being seen as a rise in the number of young people using it.
In England, there are 120,000 parents or carers who are potentially in need of specialist treatment for alcohol dependence.
