The Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010

Duty to notify suspected disease, infection or contamination in patients

2.—(1) A registered medical practitioner (R) must notify the proper officer(1) of the relevant local authority where R has reasonable grounds for suspecting that a patient (P) whom R is attending—

(a) has a notifiable disease;

(b) has an infection(2) which, in the view of R, presents or could present significant harm to human health; or

(c) is contaminated(3) in a manner which, in the view of R, presents or could present significant harm to human health.

(2) The notification must include the following information insofar as it is known to R—

(a) P’s name, date of birth and sex;

(b) P’s home address including postcode;

(c) P’s current residence (if not home address);

(d) P’s telephone number;

(e) P’s NHS number;

(f) P’s occupation (if R considers it relevant);

(g) the name, address and postcode of P’s place of work or education (if R considers it relevant);

(h) P’s relevant overseas travel history;

(i) P’s ethnicity;

(j) contact details for a parent of P (where P is a child);

(k) the disease or infection which P has or is suspected of having or the nature of P’s contamination or suspected contamination;

(l) the date of onset of P’s symptoms;

(m) the date of R’s diagnosis; and

(n) R’s name, address and telephone number.

(3) The notification must be provided in writing within 3 days beginning with the day on which R forms a suspicion under paragraph (1).

(4) Without prejudice to paragraph (3), if R considers that the case is urgent, notification must be provided orally as soon as reasonably practicable.

(5) In determining whether the case is urgent, R must have regard to —

(a) the nature of the suspected disease, infection or contamination;

(b) the ease of spread of that disease, infection or contamination;

(c) the ways in which the spread of the disease, infection or contamination can be prevented or controlled; and

(d) P’s circumstances (including age, sex and occupation).

(6) This regulation does not apply where R reasonably believes that the proper officer of the relevant local authority has already been notified with regard to P and the suspected disease, infection or contamination by another registered medical practitioner in accordance with this regulation.

(7) In this regulation—

“child” means a person under the age of 18 years;

“notifiable disease” means a disease listed in Schedule 1;

“parent” has the meaning given to it by section 576 of the Education Act 1996(4); and

“relevant local authority” means the local authority within whose area R attended P on the occasion of forming a suspicion under paragraph (1).

(1)

See section 74 of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 (c.22) (“the 1984 Act”) for the definition of “proper officer”.

(2)

See section 45A of the 1984 Act for the interpretation of “infection”.

(3)

See section 45A of the 1984 Act for the interpretation of “contamination” and related expressions.

(4)

1996 c.56.