Christopher Birkett, Head of Regulation – Research and Anatomy at HTA, talks about what public service means to him and why it still matters.
Public service is my life. I have followed different professional paths, and had many different roles, but public service has always been the golden thread. In fact, I love it so much that I also do some voluntary public service! This level of enthusiasm is probably not a surprise given that my family is full of public servants and so is the family I joined when I got married.
Although I am now well over the half-way point in my working life, I have spent an amazing 15 years at the Human Tissue Authority. The HTA regulates organisations that remove, store and use human tissue for research, medical treatment, post-mortem examination, education and training, and display in public. We also give approval for organ and bone marrow donations from living people.
Regulation is, by its nature, a form of restriction but our framework has a moral and caring purpose. My professional motivations in healthcare regulation are not just about protecting people from physical harm but also ensuring that their rights and wishes are respected through robust consent arrangements. Having had direct previous experience in all-but-one of our six, diverse sectors, I strive to stand by the sides of dedicated professionals and not in their way.
Although I have much less direct contact with the public than I had in my previous clinical roles, the work I do in regulation means I am able to have a positive effect on the lives of many more people than I could ever have as a healthcare professional. Despite this, most people will not have heard of the HTA. I take comfort from the fact that effective regulation in the UK either goes completely unnoticed or is taken for granted as a normal expectation of everyday life. That is part of what success as a regulator looks like.
Working through the pandemic made me appreciate so many things. I felt extremely proud to be part of the national effort, supporting our public health services and the private businesses we regulate. I also realised that the response to the pandemic brought out the best in the committed people who were dedicated to supporting others, widening the everyday concepts of ‘key worker’ and ‘public service’.
Will my children become public servants? I am not sure, and it really would be their choice. What I am sure of is that they will take into their lives the principles and values our families have shared with them, and our proud public service legacy will continue.
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