Against the Flow

Bobbie Jacobson’s honest and deeply personal story brings home her passion for preventing ill-health. Not just for individuals, but for whole communities. It is a passion too often thwarted by governments, vested interests and imposed on an obedient health management system.


Her personal accounts of the tragedies, comedies, triumphs and setbacks of a woman doctor, partner and mother start deep in the gender wars of the 1970s and move on to a future in public health and family life she never dreamt was possible.


She goes backstage to tell untold stories of what really happens in government, the NHS and local communities. Drawing on four decades as an international activist and public health director in London’s East End, she uncovers new truths about how to overcome the Groundhog Day of failed prevention.


She sheds new light on tackling the persistent health gap in a future pandemic. Her stories show what really can be achieved when public health teams work hand in glove with local communities.