2022 No. 657 (W. 147)
Public Health, Wales

The Health Protection (Notification) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2022

Made
Laid before Senedd Cymru
Coming into force
The Welsh Ministers make the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 13, 45C(1), (2), (3)(a) and (b), 45F(2)(a) and (b), 45P(2) and 60A of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 19841.
In accordance with section 45Q(3) of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984, the Welsh Ministers declare that they are of the opinion that these Regulations do not contain provision made by virtue of section 45C(3)(c) of that Act which imposes or enables the imposition of a special restriction or requirement2 or any other restriction or requirement which has or would have a significant effect on a person’s rights.

Title and commencement1.

(1)

The title of these Regulations is the Health Protection (Notification) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2022.

(2)

These Regulations come into force on 15 June 2022.

Amendments to the Health Protection (Notification) (Wales) Regulations 20102.

(1)

The Health Protection (Notification) (Wales) Regulations 20103 are amended as follows.

(2)

In Schedule 1 (notifiable diseases and syndromes), after “Meningococcal septicaemia” insert “Monkeypox”.

(3)

In Schedule 2 (causative agents), after “Measles virus” insert “Monkeypox virus”.

Eluned Morgan
Minister for Health and Social Services, one of the Welsh Ministers
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Health Protection (Notification) (Wales) Regulations 2010 (“the 2010 Regulations”) which place obligations on various persons for the purpose of preventing, protecting against, controlling or providing a public health response to the incidence or spread of infection or contamination.

Regulation 2(2) inserts “Monkeypox” into Schedule 1 to the 2010 Regulations for the purposes of adding this to the list of “Diseases and Syndromes” for which there is a duty upon medical practitioners to notify a relevant local authority if a patient they are attending is believed to have such a disease or syndrome. This extends to the notification of suspected disease, infection or contamination in a dead body.

Regulation 2(3) inserts “Monkeypox virus” into Schedule 2 to the 2010 Regulations for the purposes of adding this to the list of “Causative agents” for which there is a duty upon operators of diagnostic laboratories to notify a relevant local authority if they identify an agent, or evidence of such an agent, in a human sample.

There has been no regulatory impact assessment in relation to these Regulations due to the need to put them in place urgently to respond to the current outbreak of monkeypox in the UK.