The Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010
| Year | 2010 |
2010 No. 659
Public Health, England
The Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010
Made 9th March 2010
Laid before Parliament 11th March 2010
The Secretary of State makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 13, 45C(1), (2) and (3)(a), 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 Secretary of State declares that he is of the opinion that these Regulations do not contain any provision made by virtue of section 45C(3)(c) of that Act which imposes or enables the imposition of a special restriction or requirement or any other restriction or requirement which has or would have a significant effect on a person’s rights.
Citation, commencement and application
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010 and shall come into force—
(a)
(a) for the purposes of all regulations except regulation 4 on 6th April 2010; and
(b)
(b) for the purposes of regulation 4 on 1st October 2010.
(2) These Regulations apply in relation to England only.
Duty to notify suspected disease, infection or contamination in patients
2.—(1) A registered medical practitioner (R) must notify the proper officer2of the relevant local authority where R has reasonable grounds for suspecting that a patient (P) whom R is attending—
(a)
(a) has a notifiable disease;
(b)
(b) has an infection3which, in the view of R, presents or could present significant harm to human health; or
(c)
(c) is contaminated4in 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)
(a) P’s name, date of birth and sex;
(b)
(b) P’s home address including postcode;
(c)
(c) P’s current residence (if not home address);
(d)
(d) P’s telephone number;
(e)
(e) P’s NHS number;
(f)
(f) P’s occupation (if R considers it relevant);
(g)
(g) the name, address and postcode of P’s place of work or education (if R considers it relevant);
(h)
(h) P’s relevant overseas travel history;
(i)
(i) P’s ethnicity;
(j)
(j) contact details for a parent of P (where P is a child);
(k)
(k) the disease or infection which P has or is suspected of having or the nature of P’s contamination or suspected contamination;
(l)
(l) the date of onset of P’s symptoms;
(m)
(m) the date of R’s diagnosis; and
(n)
(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)
(a) the nature of the suspected disease, infection or contamination;
(b)
(b) the ease of spread of that disease, infection or contamination;
(c)
(c) the ways in which the spread of the disease, infection or contamination can be prevented or controlled; and
(d)
(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 19965; and
“relevant local authority” means the local authority within whose area R attended P on the occasion of forming a suspicion under paragraph (1).
Duty to notify suspected disease, infection or contamination in dead persons
3.—(1) A registered medical practitioner (R) must notify the proper officer of the relevant local authority where R has reasonable grounds for suspecting that a person (P) whom R is attending has died whilst—
(a)
(a) infected with a notifiable disease;
(b)
(b) infected with a disease which, in the view of R, presents or could present, or presented or could have presented (whilst P was alive), significant harm to human health; or
(c)
(c) contaminated in a manner which, in the view of R, presents or could present, or presented or could have presented (whilst P was alive), significant harm to human health.
(2) The notification must include the following information insofar as it is known to R—
(a)
(a) P’s name, date of birth and sex;
(b)
(b) P’s date of death;
(c)
(c) P’s home address including postcode;
(d)
(d) P’s place of residence at time of death (if different from home address);
(e)
(e) P’s NHS number;
(f)
(f) P’s occupation at time of death (if R considers it relevant);
(g)
(g) the name, address and postcode of P’s place of work or education at the time of death (if R considers it relevant);
(h)
(h) P’s relevant overseas travel history;
(i)
(i) P’s ethnicity;
(j)
(j) the disease or infection which P had or is suspected of having had or the nature of P’s contamination or suspected contamination;
(k)
(k) the date of onset of P’s symptoms;
(l)
(l) the date of R’s diagnosis; and
(m)
(m) 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)
(a) the nature of the suspected disease, infection or contamination;
(b)
(b) the ease of spread of that disease, infection or contamination;
(c)
(c) the ways in which the spread of the disease, infection or contamination can be prevented or controlled; and
(d)
(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 or regulation 2(1).
(7) In this regulation—
“notifiable disease” has the same meaning it has in regulation 2; and
“relevant local authority” means the local authority within whose area R attended P on the occasion of forming a suspicion under paragraph (1).
Duty to notify causative agents found in human samples
4.—(1) The operator of a diagnostic laboratory must notify the Health Protection Agency6in accordance with this regulation where the diagnostic laboratory identifies a causative agent in a human sample.
(2) The notification must include the following information insofar as it is known to the operator of the diagnostic laboratory—
(a)
(a) name and address of the diagnostic laboratory;
(b)
(b) details of the causative agent identified;
(c)
(c) date of the sample;
(d)
(d) nature of the sample;
(e)
(e) name of person (P) from whom the sample was taken;
(f)
(f) P’s date of birth and sex;
(g)
(g) P’s current home address including postcode;
(h)
(h) P’s current residence (if not home address);
(i)
(i) P’s ethnicity;
(j)
(j) P’s NHS number; and
(k)
(k) the name, address and organisation of the person who solicited the test which identified the causative agent.
(3) The notification must be provided in writing within 7 days beginning with the day on which the causative agent is identified.
(4) Without prejudice to paragraph (3), if the operator of the diagnostic laboratory considers that the case is urgent, the notification must be provided orally as soon as reasonably practicable.
(5) In determining whether the case is urgent, the operator of the diagnostic laboratory must have regard to —
(a)
(a) the nature of the causative agent;
(b)
(b) the nature of the disease which the causative agent causes;
(c)
(c) the ease of spread of the causative agent;
(d)
(d) the ways in which the spread of the causative agent can be prevented or controlled; and
(e)
(e) where known, P’s circumstances (including age, sex and occupation).
(6) This regulation does not apply where the operator of the diagnostic laboratory reasonably believes that the Health Protection Agency has already been notified in accordance with this regulation by the operator of another diagnostic laboratory in relation to the same causative agent being found in a sample from the same person.
(7) For the purposes of paragraph (1), a diagnostic laboratory identifies a causative agent where—
(a)
(a) the diagnostic laboratory identifies the causative agent; or
(b)
(b) the causative agent is identified by another laboratory under an arrangement made with that diagnostic laboratory.
(8) Where paragraph (7)(b) applies, the day on which the causative agent is identified for the purposes of paragraph (3), is the day on which the diagnostic laboratory became aware of the identification by the other laboratory.
(9) It is an offence for the operator of a diagnostic laboratory to fail without reasonable excuse to comply with this regulation.
(10) Any person who commits an offence under this regulation is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.
(11) In this regulation—
“causative agent” means—
(a) a causative agent listed in Schedule 2, or
(b) evidence of an infection caused by such an agent;
“diagnostic laboratory” means an institution (or facility within an institution) which is equipped with apparatus and reagents for the performance of...
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