Notifiable diseases

England¹

Registered medical practitioners have a statutory duty to notify the 'proper officer' at their local council or local health protection team (HPT) of suspected cases of notifiable diseases. They must:

• Complete a notification form immediately on diagnosis of a suspected notifiable disease. They should not wait for laboratory confirmation of a suspected infection or contamination before notification.

• Send the form securely to the proper officer within three days, or notify them verbally within 24 hours if the case is urgent.

Northern Ireland²

If a registered medical practitioner becomes aware, or suspects, that a patient whom they are attending within the district of a local authority is suffering from a notifiable disease, they shall forthwith send to the proper officer of the local authority for the district a certificate stating:

• The name, age and sex of the patient and the address where the patient is.

• The disease and the date, or approximate date, of its onset.

Scotland

• All registered medical practitioners must notify their health board if they have a reasonable suspicion that a patient whom they are attending has a notifiable disease. They should not wait until laboratory confirmation of the suspected disease before notification.

• Practitioners must notify their health board, electronically via the Scottish Care Information (SCI) Gateway, within three days of suspicion.

• If the practitioner deems the case to be 'urgent', notification should take place by telephone as soon as reasonably practicable. All urgent oral notifications must be followed up, in writing, within three days of suspicion.

Wales³

• Regulations require that a registered medical practitioner notify the proper officer of the relevant local authority if a patient they are attending is believed to have a notifiable disease.

• The notification must be made in writing to the proper officer within three days of the medical practitioner suspecting that the patient fulfils one of the above criteria. However, if the medical practitioner considers that the case is urgent, notification must be provided orally as soon as is reasonably practical.

Notification of the infectious diseases (as in the table below) is required by GPs in the UK.

Notification

Notification requires the completion of the appropriate form; however, notify urgent cases by phone as well (as soon as possible - certainly within 24 hours of any suspicions).

Details required

• Patient's name, date of birth, sex and home address with postcode.

• Patient's NHS number.

• Ethnicity (used to monitor health equalities).

• Occupation and/or place of work or educational establishment if relevant.

• Current residence (if it is not the home address).

• Contact telephone number.

• Contact details of a parent (for children).

• The disease or infection, or nature of poisoning/contamination being reported.

• Date of onset of symptoms and date of diagnosis.

• Any relevant overseas travel history.

• If in hospital, also:
  

  • Hospital address.

  • Day admitted.

  • Whether the disease was contracted in hospital.

There is no longer a fee payable for notification.

In Scotland, written notification should be undertaken electronically via the SCI Gateway⁴.

Lists of notifiable diseases

Comments

There is widespread under-reporting and lack of compliance with these guidelines, both in the UK and abroad⁷⁸⁹.