Health Services and Public Health Act 1968

48 Cases of notifiable disease and food poisoning to be reported to local authority

(1) If a duly qualified medical practitioner becomes aware, or suspects, that a patient whom he is attending within the district of a local authority is suffering from a notifiable disease or from food poisoning, he shall unless he believes, and has reasonable grounds for believing, that some other such practitioner has complied with this subsection with respect to the patient, forthwith send to the medical officer of health of that district a certificate stating—

(a) the name, age and sex of the patient and the address of the premises where the patient is;

(b) the disease or, as the case may be, particulars of the poisoning from which the patient is, or is suspected to be, suffering and the date, or approximate date, of its onset; and

(c) if the premises aforesaid are a hospital, the day on which the patient was admitted thereto, the address of the premises from whence he came there and whether or not, in the opinion of the person giving the certificate, the disease or poisoning from which the patient is, or is suspected to be, suffering was contracted in the hospital.

(2) Where the local authority within whose district are situate premises whose address is, by virtue of paragraph (a) of the foregoing subsection, specified in a certificate sent under that subsection are not a local health authority, the medical officer of health who receives the certificate shall, on the day of its receipt (if possible) and in any case within forty-eight hours after its receipt, send a copy thereof—

(a) to the local health authority within whose area those premises are situate ; and

(b) if the certificate is given with respect to a patient in hospital who came there from premises outside the district of the local authority within whose district the hospital is situate, and the certificate states that the patient did not contract the disease or poisoning in the hospital, to the medical officer of health of the district within which are situate the premises from which the patient came and, if the local authority for that district is not a local health authority and the district is not within the area of the health authority within whose area the hospital is situate, to the local health authority within whose area those premises are situate.

(3) Where the local authority within whose district are situate premises whose address is, by virtue of paragraph (a) of subsection (1) above, specified in a certificate sent under that subsection, are a local health authority, then, if the certificate is given with respect to a patient in hospital who came there from premises outside that district and the certificate states that the patient did not contract the disease or poisoning in the hospital, the medical officer of health who receives the certificate shall, on the day of its receipt (if possible) and in any case within forty-eight hours after its receipt, send a copy thereof—

(a) to the medical officer of health of the district within which are situate the premises from which the patient came; and

(b) if the local authority for that district are not a local health authority, to the local health authority within whose area the premises are situate.

(4) A person who fails to comply with an obligation imposed on him by subsection (1) above shall be guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £10.

(5) In this section, " hospital" means any institution for the reception and treatment of persons suffering from illness, any maternity home and any institution for the reception and treatment of persons during convalescence or persons requiring medical rehabilitation, and " illness " includes mental disorder within the meaning of the [1959 c. 72.] Mental Health Act 1959 and any injury or disability requiring medical, surgical or dental treatment or nursing.