5.—(1) It is not an offence under section 22 of the Act to disclose protected information if—
(a)the disclosure is made to a health professional;
(b)the disclosure is made for medical purposes; and
(c)the person making the disclosure reasonably believes that the subject has given consent to the disclosure or cannot give such consent.
(2) “Medical purposes” includes the purposes of preventative medicine, medical diagnosis and the provision of care and treatment.
(3) “Health professional” means any of the following—
(a)a registered medical practitioner;
(b)a registered dentist within the meaning of section 53(1) of the Dentists Act 1984(1);
(c)a registered pharmaceutical chemist within the meaning of section 24(1) of the Pharmacy Act 1954(2) or a registered person within the meaning of article 2(2) of the Pharmacy (Northern Ireland) Order 1976(3);
(d)a registered nurse;
(e)a person who is registered under the Health Professions Order 2001(4) as a paramedic or operating department practitioner;
(f)a person working lawfully in a trainee capacity in any of the professions specified in this paragraph.